Pokemon: Sinnoh Journey
by xkelbix
Summary: Eight years before Ash Ketchum began his journey to become a Pokemon Master another story took place. Follow eight-year-old Nina Devalo as she begins her own journey as a Pokemon Trainer. Many challenges await her but with her best friend and partner, Linoone, she will face them head-on.
1. Chapter 1

**Tuesday - March 23rd**

Sandgem Town was a small town in south-western Sinnoh. It was where some Pokemon Trainers in the Sinnoh region at the age of ten would travel to, to receive their very first Pokemon from Professor Rowan. It was the most important day in everyone's life. Today was another one of those days. It was the start of ten-year-old Nina Devalo's journey.

It was March 23rd and at one of the far corners of the town was a small white-stone house with a red roof and a red door. A window on the upper floor was wide open, letting a cool spring breeze and the dazzling morning sunlight shining into the room. A young girl was sitting by the desk in her room, brushing through her long brown hair. She wore navy blue jeans and a magenta long-sleeve t-shirt.

"The day is finally here when I start my journey as a Pokemon Trainer," she said then swirled around in her chair, "Are you excited, Linoone?"

Sitting on her bed - where the equipment she would need for her journey was set out - eating from a tub of round blue berries was a small white creature not unlike a badger with brown arrow-like stripes stretching down the length of its body; a Linoone.

Linoone smiled and nodded at her, "Linoone!"

She smiled in return and looked back at the mirror. She pulled her hair back and tied it up into a tail with her fringe parted to the right above her left eye and side-bangs reaching past her jaw. She nodded, satisfied with her appearance. She stood up and walked over to her bed and shook her head at Linoone.

"Linoone, if you eat all the berries now you won't have any for later,"

Linoone looked at her then down at the small tub; almost half of its contents were gone. He gulped down the berry in his mouth and smiled innocently, "Li."

She picked the tub up and placed the lid on and set it back down on her bed. She picked up and put on a black belt with a money pouch and a strap with small magnets for holding pokeballs. Although she had Linoone she had never captured him in a Pokeball so didn't have any to place on her belt yet. Both she and Linoone felt that they didn't need a Pokeball to keep them together because they were the best of friends. She then proceeded to check the rest of her equipment and placed them neatly in her tan brown bag. As she placed them in the bag, she ticked them off a list she kept at the side, so she knew she had everything.

"Tent? Check. Waterproof sleeping bag? Check. First aid kit? Check," she placed her small tent and a first aid kit in the largest section of her bag and attached the sleeping bag to the bottom. In one of the side compartments, she placed a camera. She wanted to take as many photos of the Pokemon and people she met on her journey so she could one day look back on her adventures. In the other side compartment, she placed the tub of Oran berries for Linoone, and in the front section, she placed in a journal that she planned to write in every night along with a folded map of the Sinnoh region.

"That should be everything," she said and put on her purple converse shoes and white jacket with purple sleeves. Just as she was about to leave her eye caught on something on the bedside table; a silver photo frame. She put her bag down on the bed and walked over to it and picked it up. She smiled.

In the photo was eight-year-old Nina standing in the centre holding a Zigzagoon; Linoone's pre-evolutionary form. Behind her stood her mother Fey and father Warren and their friends Shane and Trish who were basically Nina's uncle and aunt. The photo had been taken at Sandgem Beach two years ago during the summer not long before Zigzagoon evolved and her dad left to travel the world. Although Nina missed him a lot, his determination to follow his dreams gave Nina inspiration to follow her own of becoming a great Pokemon Trainer like her parents.

"I'll make you proud dad," she walked back over to her bag and placed the photo in with her journal and map. Once she was sure that everything was sorted, she picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder, "Come on Linoone."

Linoone jumped onto her shoulder and she made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen. She was greeted by Gardevoir; a tall and graceful creature with a flowing white body like an elegant dress and a green head that curled down almost like hair. Gardevoir gave them a graceful curtsey; it was the greeting she gave to everyone. Nina curtseyed back out of good manners and sat at the table.

Nina's mother Fey turned when she heard her enter the room, "Good morning dear, happy birthday,"

Nina had a lot in common with her mother. Fey had the same bright blue eyes and long brown hair that flowed down to her waist. She looked just like an adult version of Nina, except her fringe sat neatly above her eyebrows instead of parted above the eyes, "Are you excited for today?"

Nina nodded, "You bet! I've been waiting for this day for a long time."

"I know you have, that's why I decided to make you a special breakfast," she turned around and picked up a plate and placed it in front of Nina, "Pikachu pancakes with syrup."

Nina's eyes lit up at the sight of the pancakes in the shape of the small electric mouse-Pokemon with pointy ears and a zig-zag tail. While Nina was allowed the occasional treat of a rich breakfast, her mother usually gave her healthier food, so to Nina, this was a real treat, "Oh wow, my favourite! You're the best Mum!"

Fey smiled and placed a smaller plate in front of Linoone. She couldn't help rolling her eyes as the two wolfed down the food like there was no tomorrow, "No wonder you two are always hungry, you never take any time to savour your food."

Nina gulped down a large mouthful, "But it's so good!"

"Thank you, dear, but take your time eating and you won't feel hungry again so quickly. You're so much like your father,"

Nina smiled innocently. The fluttering of wings caught her ears as a Beautifly flew in through the open window carrying a small basket of berries.

"Thank you Beautifly," Fey smiled and took the basket.

"Good morning, Beautifly," Nina greeted the Pokemon.

"Beautifly!" the butterfly Pokemon replied with glee.

"I asked Beautifly to gather some more berries for Linoone and any other Pokemon you meet," said Fey and she placed the basket on the table. Linoone stared at the contents adoringly while he ate. There were Pecha, Leppa, Rawst and Oran (Linoone's favourite).

"Thank you, Beautifly!" Nina said gratefully.

"Do you have the box with the Oran Berries?"

Nina flinched then nodded. She picked up her bag and slowly took the tub out of her bag and handed it to her mum. Fey opened the tub.

"Huh? Why are there only half left? It was full last night. Linoone?" Fey gave Linoone a stern look. He shuffled his feet guiltily.

Nina chuckled, "Sorry Mum, Linoone just loves them so much he can't stop himself sometimes."

Fey sighed, "Yes I know, I've caught him a few times trying to eat the ones growing in the garden before they're ready."

Nina looked at Linoone who shrugged innocently.

"This is the last batch I'm going to give you for now. If you want more then you will have to find them yourself or buy them. Just be sure not to spend all of your money on berries, you will need food for yourself. I've packed food for on the road that should last you a few days but make sure you stock up in Jubilife City," Fey proceeded to place the berries into different slots for their flavours and packed it along with Nina's food supplies into her bag before handing it back to her.

"Do you have everything you need?"

Nina nodded, "Yes, everything has been checked off the list."

Fey smiled, "Good. Professor Rowan is waiting for you, so I want you to go see him right away and remember to be polite. Now, here's some of the money I've been saving for you. If you need any more just call but try to spend it wisely."

Nina nodded and pocketed the money in her belt pouch.

"And remember to eat responsibly. Make sure you eat nutritious food and drink plenty of water. You can have a sweet treat now and again but not as your main diet," she gave Nina a stern look, "And that goes for you too, Linoone."

Nina and Linoone blushed. Fey knew them far too well.

"Ok, I promise."

"One last thing before you go. I want you to have this," Fey lifted her hands to the back of her neck and unclipped her necklace and held it to Nina, "My mother gave this to me on my tenth birthday and now I want you to have it."

"Are you sure?" Nina said. She wasn't sure that her mother should be entrusting her with something so valuable.

Fey chuckled, "Of course, today is your special day and I want you to have it."

Nina took the necklace in her hand, her blue eyes sparkling in awe. It was a gold charm in the shape of a Pokeball attached to a gold chain. She always saw her mum wearing it and was surprised that she was giving it to her. She placed it on and embraced her mum, "Thank you so much, Mum!"

Fey smiled, "I'm glad you like it," she said returning the hug, "Now, you better be on your way and while you're gone I want you both to be on your best behaviour, so no picking battles with everyone you see and be careful, I know how clumsy you can be at times Nina so look after yourself and remember to call now and again so I know how you're doing."

Nina blushed and smiled, "I will I promise. As soon as I get to Jubilife City I'll call."

Nina and Linoone hugged and said goodbye to Fey, Gardevoir and Beautifly before making their way out the front door and heading off to Professor Rowan's lab.

Fey smiled as she watched her daughter leave on her journey. She was so proud of her and she had the utmost faith that she would do well.


	2. Chapter 2

"Are the Pokemon ready?" An older man with greying-brown hair asked.

"Yes Professor, they are waiting in the laboratory as we speak," said his assistant.

Professor Rowan nodded as he stared out the window waiting for the young trainer to arrive. He'd often seen Nina with her Linoone exploring different parts of the town and taking photos of the Pokemon she saw. He remembered how she helped care for Linoone when she found him injured as a Zigzagoon and how excited she was when he evolved. The two were inseparable. One was never seen without the other. This made him smile as he knew that she would be an excellent trainer if she bonded with all her Pokemon the way she has with Linoone.

As he pondered this, he had been so lost in thought that he didn't notice his assistant talking to him, "I'm sorry, what were you saying?"

"The young trainer has arrived, she is waiting in the reception,"

Professor Rowan nodded and made his way to greet her. He found Nina talking with one of his assistants, Linoone sitting on her shoulder.

"Ah hello, Nina it is good to see you. I'm glad you could make it on time," he said.

"Thank you, sir," she said politely.

He turned around and walked over to the doors of the lab, gesturing for her to follow. She followed and skipped through the doors into a large room where she could see three Starly and a Staraptor perched by a table as a lab assistant examined them. In the centre of the room were three different Pokemon sitting on top of the centre table, watching her curiously as she entered. She couldn't help but smile and stare at them in awe.

"As you may already know, Chimchar is a fire type, Piplup a water type and Turtwig a grass type," Professor Rowan said pointing to each of them in turn, "You may choose one of these Pokemon."

Nina stood a bit closer to them. She looked at each of them closely. Piplup was a blue and white penguin-like Pokemon with a yellow beak and feet and two white dots on its chest. Chimchar was a chimp-like Pokemon with yellow skin, orange fur and a flame on its rear. Turtwig was a green and yellow turtle-like Pokemon with a brown moist soil shell on its back.

As she looked at Turtwig, Piplup jumped in front of it trying to gain Nina's attention but Turtwig wouldn't have it and shoved Piplup out of the way. This only antagonized Piplup and it jumped on top of Turtwig and pecked causing them both to fight. The lab assistants tried to break them up but the two Pokemon were determined to beat each other and gain the trainer's favour. Nina giggled, and her gaze rested on Chimchar who was watching nervously as the other two fought. He noticed Nina looking at him and he cocked his head to the side curiously. Nina smiled widely and picked Chimchar up. She noticed how much lighter in weight compared to Linoone despite them being similar in size.

"Hello, Chimchar. My name's Nina. Linoone and I are going to travel all over Sinnoh and compete in the Pokemon League. Would you like to join us?" she asked.

Chimchar's face broke into a big smile and he happily bounced in Nina's arms.

Professor Rowan nodded, ignoring the ongoing fight, "Good choice. Chimchar seems happy that you have chosen him. Now, Nina, whilst you are out on your journey, there is something I would like you to do for me."

Nina, Linoone and Chimchar all turned their full attention to the professor as if he were their sergeant, "As you know I am a professor studying the types of Pokemon that live here in the Sinnoh region and the process of evolution. I would like to entrust you with this Pokedex and collect data on the Pokemon you meet on your journey. Can you do that for me?"

She nodded with a smile, "Of course, sir, it's the least I can do."

"I thought you might agree," He handed her a pink device twice the size of her hand. She inspected it carefully. It was flat and light in weight with a few buttons that if pressed projected a screen with information, "The Pokedex is a very high-tech device created by Professor Samuel Oak, of Kanto. It will record data of Pokemon you meet whether it be in the wild or belong to another trainer, so I want you to take good care of it. All you need to do is hold it in front of a Pokemon and press the green button and it will scan the Pokemon for information. I would like you to collect data on every Pokemon you meet. There are many Pokemon in the world that we have collected data on, however, there are still many that we have not yet discovered so if you ever encounter such a Pokemon I would like you to inform me."

"A rare Pokemon. I can't imagine what it would be like to see one," She said thoughtfully.

"There is just one last thing," He said, and his assistant handed him some items. "I want you to take these Pokeballs, this one belongs to Chimchar," He handed her six Pokeballs and she attached them to her belt.

"Thank you so much professor, but for now, I'm going to let Chimchar walk with us. That's if he wants to?" she looked at Chimchar who nodded happily.

Professor Rowan nodded, "Very well. Now I won't keep you any further, you are free to go and everyone in the lab wishes you luck in your journey."

She thanked the professor and his assistants and made her way out. Once outside she took a deep breath. "Well guys this is it, let's go have the biggest adventure ever!"

The sun was shining brightly on the path of Route 202. A small flock of Starly hooted as they flew past. Nina had her camera out and was snapping pictures everywhere. She had only been on the road for roughly two hours and had already managed to take up almost half of the film in her camera. Chimchar and Linoone were sitting on each of Nina's shoulders, also taking in the sights. So far, she had collected data of Ariados, Starly, Chimchar and Linoone. She snapped another photo of an Ariados hanging on a tree then looked at her camera.

"Maybe I should calm down a bit before I run out of film," she said and handed the camera to Chimchar who placed it back in her bag, "When we get to Jubilife City it should be evening, so how about we go for some dinner?"

Chimchar and Linoone nodded in agreement.

"Great, then we can check into the Pokemon Centre and go shopping in the-"she broke off from her sentence. Not far ahead of them sitting on the road was a small lion cub-like Pokemon with black and blue fur and large yellow eyes. It was watching them closely as they approached.

"Oh wow, a Shinx!" Nina said in excitement and pulled her Pokedex out of her pocket and pointed it towards the little Pokemon.

"Shinx, the flash Pokemon. All of its fur dazzles if danger is sensed. It flees while the foe is momentarily blinded," The Pokedex said in its robotic voice.

Nina's eyes lit up, "It's so adorable!"

Linoone and Chimchar leapt down from her shoulder as she picked a Pokeball from her belt, "Let's catch it!"

Just as she was about to throw the Pokeball something jumped up in front of her and snatched her Pokedex from her hand. She screamed in fright and almost lost her balance. She looked at the perpetrator to find another Shinx. It took one glance back at her and ran off into the forest along with the one who had been sitting on the road.

"Hey, come back!" Nina yelled and ran after it. Linoone and Chimchar exchanged a quick glance before following.

Nina ran as fast as she could after the two Shinx, but they were very quick and she was struggling to keep sight of them amongst the trees. She growled in frustration; she just got the Pokedex and already she had lost it. Professor Rowan wouldn't be impressed. She had to get it back quickly.

"Quick, Linoone, Chimchar, after them!"

Linoone darted past her on ground level while Chimchar swung through the trees. Linoone was catching up to them very fast and was about to tackle them but they jumped left. The sudden change of direction took him by surprise. Linoone skidded to a halt and turned to go after them again. Chimchar was now ahead of them.

"Chimchar, use Scratch!" Nina yelled.

Chimchar jumped down from the tree and landed in front of the Shinx. Chimchar scratched the one with the Pokedex and knocked it down, dropping the Pokedex. The other growled at him angrily and a bolt of electricity shot out from its body and hit Chimchar. The chimp Pokemon yelled out and fell down weakened. The Shinx helped its friend up.

"Chimchar!" Nina cried. She and Linoone were catching up to them.

Both Shinx nodded at each other. This time they both shot a bolt of electricity from their body and hit a tree branch. It fell down with a loud crash inches in front of Nina. She didn't notice it in time and tripped over it with a loud crash to the ground. She winced, her head spinning from the sudden impact. She looked up to see the Shinx running off again with her Pokedex.

"Wait, come back!" she yelled, but they didn't listen. She groaned and rubbed her aching head. Linoone was helping Chimchar up.

"Chimchar, are you alright?" she asked. Chimchar nodded but frowned, disappointed that the Shinx got away.

"Hey, don't worry, you did really good," she said, hoping it would comfort him. She looked in the direction the Shinx had gone and sighed, "This is just great. I've been a Pokemon Trainer for less than half a day and I've already lost my Pokedex."

Linoone placed a paw on her leg, "Linoone!"

Nina nodded, "You're right, now isn't the time for me to get upset. Come on, we need to get that Pokedex back before they get too far."

Nina stood up and they continued running in the direction the Shinx had gone. She jumped over another branch the Shinx had knocked down and suddenly the ground gave way from under her. She landed on her side with a loud thud.

"Urgh… what now?" she groaned and pushed to get up, but something hit her on the back knocking her down again; it was Linoone. He climbed off of her, apologizing, and helped her up. She rubbed her head which was now more painful than when she tripped over. No doubt there would be a massive bump later. She looked around and realized that she was in a deep hole. She yelped, "Where's Chimchar?"

She looked up just in time to see Chimchar stagger on the edge.

"Chimchar, be careful!"

Chimchar pushed himself back just in time to save himself from falling. Nina sighed in relief but now she and Linoone were trapped down there and Chimchar was alone. Chimchar began to yell down at them frantically.

"Chimchar, don't worry, just hold on," she carefully stood up. Her side ached from the fall.

"Linoone, are you alright?" she asked and checked him over. She was glad to find out that he wasn't hurt; she must have cushioned his fall. She looked up at Chimchar again. The hole she was in must have been at least fifteen feet deep, "What on earth is a hole this deep doing here?"

She looked around to see if there was anything, she could use to climb but there wasn't. She cursed, "Darn. Linoone, do you think you could get up there?"

Linoone crouched low and sprung as high as he could on his back legs. He managed to reach half way and used his claws to try to climb up but he slid back down. He tried a few more times with Nina's help but still no luck.

"Oh boy, this really isn't good," she frowned. Chimchar was still yelling frantically down at them.

"Chimchar please calm down it's going to be alright. Listen I need you to head back to the road and try to find someone. If you can't, then head back to Professor Rowan's lab!" she yelled up for him to hear.

Tears started to form in Chimchar's eyes; he didn't know if he could do what she asked. What if he got lost along the way? Then Nina and Linoone would be trapped down there for who knows how long and he would be alone.

"Chimchar, you need to stay calm. Please, you're our only hope! We know you can do it!"

Chimchar knew she was right, getting worried about it was distracting him and the more time he wasted the longer they would be down there. He plucked up his courage and nodded, "Char!"

Nina smiled, glad that he was now listening, "Good, now please be careful!"

Chimchar nodded again and took off down the route they had come. Praying he didn't get lost.


	3. Chapter 3

A soft jingle like a xylophone echoed through the forest as three Kricketot waddled around the trees and bushes gathering a large number of pink berries. They seemed unaware or unbothered by the young boy and his Eevee crouched in the bushes nearby, for neither of them gave any inclination that they were a threat to the forest Pokemon. They kept a fair distance and merely watched the Pokemon go about their morning business.

The Kricketot piled together their hoard then stood together in a circle and began dancing. They knocked their antenna into each other's, and their soft individual jingles merged together into a melodic tune.

The song was enchanting and some of the other forest Pokemon had gathered to listen. The boy and his Eevee felt a comforting warmth embrace them. It was so calming that they no longer felt the hard ground and twigs beneath their bodies but instead felt like they were lying on soft clouds floating through the sky as their minds were flooded with happy thoughts. The boy shivered with delight as the sweet smell of chocolate fudge cake filled his nostrils. The smell was so strong that he was convinced he was surrounded by thousands of cakes. His mouth began to water.

"Ee!"

He snapped out of his fantasy when he noticed Eevee pawing at his arm. She gestured towards the other Pokemon and he saw that the song had ended, and they too had snapped out of their trances, expressions of pure satisfaction on their faces. He managed to catch sight of the Kricketot carrying their food up into the trees before they vanished out of sight.

The boy sat up, wiping the drool from his mouth and pulled out a notebook from his green bag.

"Same three Kricketot as yesterday, gathering berries. Once again, Pecha berries, meaning they must have a taste for the sweeter berries," he said as he wrote, "They gathered a lot more today which could mean there are more Kricketot than yesterday. They then celebrated their successful gathering with a song and dance. The dance was simply wiggling back and forth, hitting their antenna into each other's to create a sound like a xylophone. The song itself was cheerful and seemed to enchant any who heard it as the Pokemon that had gathered to listen, and myself, were all in a happy trance."

His heart warmed again at the memory of chocolate fudge cake.

"Once their song is finished, they gather their hoard and return to their homes where they wait until nightfall to begin the cycle again."

He closed his notebook and sat back for a moment, "it's fascinating isn't it Eevee, how a simple song can create such a powerful effect."

"Ee!" she agreed.

He smiled and breathed in deeply. The smell and calmness of the forest were always so relaxing to him. Part of him wanted to stay forever, but another part told him it was time to move on and explore somewhere else. Sinnoh was a big place and there was so much for him to learn.

He packed his notebook and binoculars away and petted his furry companion, "Come on, Eevee."

"Ee!" she bounced happily at his feet.

It was mid-afternoon by the time they reached the Route 202 path. The boy continued to whistle the Kricketot tune that had been stuck in his head all morning as he watched the wild Pokemon he passed. Once again, the flavour of chocolate fudge cake tingled on the tip of his taste buds. He made a promise to himself that he'd have some when he got to Jubilife City. And a treat for Eevee of course, he thought as he watched her running around with some Bidoof that had started to follow them.

"Ee! Ee!" she cheered, chasing after the Bidoof in a game of tag. She gently tackled one to the ground, tagging it. Satisfied with her victory she ran circles around it only to be tackled by the other two.

The boy chuckled as Eevee's eyes filled with tears while the three Bidoof tickled her. It lifted his heart to see her playing so freely with the wild Pokemon. When they first arrived in the forest the native Pokemon had kept their distance from them, but as the days went by they became accustomed to their presence. While not all were friendly and accepting to have them in their home, some were willing to play with them and Eevee was more than happy to make some new friends.

"Char!"

The Bidoof jumped off Eevee in surprise. They exchanged a quick glance before running off in a panic.

Eevee and her trainer looked at each other confused when they too heard the cries. The boy turned in its direction when something jumped out of the trees in front of him.

"Whoa, hey there little guy, you scared me," he said. His eyes widened when he realised what Pokemon it was, '_A Chimchar out here?'_

Chimchar was jumping up and down frantically indicating in the direction he had just come. The boy knelt down to him, "Hey hold on, calm down. Are you lost?"

Eevee stepped forward to hear what the chimp-Pokemon had to say. Unable to understand Pokemon speech the boy watched as they exchanged words. Chimchar continued to point into the trees then started running in that direction gesturing for them to follow.

"Ee!" Eevee said to her trainer and he took the hint and followed.

'_It must belong to a trainer,'_ he thought. Chimchar were rare and the chances of finding one in the wild were extremely low.

Chimchar ran through the forest as fast as he could, glad Eevee and the boy were able to keep up with him. He memorized every tree he passed to get back to the path so he could return to Nina and Linoone quickly. He didn't think he would have found someone as quickly as he did but was glad, nonetheless. He smiled to himself when he spotted the branches the Shinx had knocked down and jumped over it to see the hole just up ahead. He turned to the boy who was hot on his heels and pointed to it.

"Char! Char!"

Nina and Linoone were sitting patiently waiting for Chimchar to return when they heard his shouts. Nina looked up in relief.

"Chimchar, is that you?" she called.

Chimchar's excited face appeared above her. She smiled.

"Hey, Chimchar, did you find someone?"

Chimchar nodded and bounced up and down happily then an Eevee appeared next to him followed by a boy with black hair. Nina and Linoone sighed in relief.

The boy gasped when he saw how far down, they were, "Hey, are you OK?"

Nina nodded, "Yeah, we're both alright, but we're stuck. We can't get out!"

"Alright hold on, I'll try to get you out," he took a few steps away from the hole so he wouldn't fall in and looked around for something to use.

"Aha!" he said as he spotted a long branch on a nearby tree, "That should be long enough."

The branch wasn't too high up, so he managed to grab hold of it. He swung on it harshly in hopes his weight would be enough to snap it. He could hear the wood creaking under his weight, but it wasn't close to snapping. Eevee and Chimchar climbed up the bent branch and jumped up and down. The wood began to crack and bend further until eventually, it snapped, and they crashed to the ground.

"You two OK?" he asked and rubbed his leg.

The two Pokemon nodded that they were fine. He dragged the branch over to the hole and lowered it down, careful not to hit the girl and Linoone.

"Here, use this."

Nina lifted Linoone onto her shoulder, "You go first Linoone."

He nodded and climbed up with ease, shaking a few leaves off in the process. Chimchar was so happy to see his new friend safe that he embraced him.

Nina took grip of the main branch, avoiding poking her eyes on the others, "Alright, here goes!"

The boy nodded and, with the help of the Pokemon, began pulling her up. Nina had gone climbing with her parents a few times, so she knew how to place her feet, but that didn't stop her foot slipping now and again on the mud. Once she was at the top the boy grabbed her hand and helped her up. She collapsed to her knees and breathed heavily in relief.

"Are you OK?" The boy asked.

Now that they were back on ground level Nina took a better look at him. He looked to be the same age as her. He wore a yellow and black jumper, brown trousers, black and grey shoes and a green bag with a teal sleeping bag attached to the bottom. He had a mop of black hair and chocolate brown eyes.

She nodded, "Yeah, thank you for helping us out. Who knows how long we could have been there?"

He smiled, "I'm glad I could help."

She smiled and knelt down to Chimchar, "And you were brilliant, Chimchar. I knew you could do it!"

Chimchar happily jumped into her arms and embraced her.

"Are these your Pokemon?" the boy asked.

"Yeah. This is Chimchar, we met just a while ago at Professor Rowan's lab, and this is Linoone, who has been my best friend for years," she stood up and held her hand out, "I'm Nina, by the way, Nina Devalo."

His face reddened a little, "Oh, I'm Corey Berlitz. Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself."

Nina giggled, "Nice to meet you, Corey."

Corey felt a tap on his leg and looked down at Eevee.

"Oh, and this is, Eevee," he said and picked her up for Nina to see.

Nina's eyes sparkled with delight, "Wow, I've never seen an Eevee up close. It's so cute! Can I pet it?"

"Sure, she won't bite."

Nina's smile widened and she petted the furry Pokemon. Her fur was so soft and smooth.

"Ee!" she said in joy.

"So, how did you and Linoone end up in that hole?" asked Corey.

Nina blushed and filled him in on what happened.

Corey took the information in then thought for a moment, "Hmm, it's a bit strange that they would steal your Pokedex. I've seen a few Shinx farther north. Did you see which way they went?"

She nodded and pointed in the direction heading deeper into the forest, "That was about twenty minutes ago."

"I think I might know where they are. Eevee and I will help you find them and get your Pokedex back."

"You will? Thank you so much!"

Nina walked by Corey's side as they made their way deeper into the forest. Linoone, Chimchar and Eevee took the lead using their heightened sense of smell and hearing to track the Shinx down. Corey's eyes closely followed small footprints that were heading in the direction he had guessed.

"How do you know where the Shinx may be?" Nina asked.

"Eevee and I have explored quite a bit of the forest and we saw some Shinx up north a few days ago. We watched them for a while and guessed they must live around there."

"How long have you been in this forest?" she asked as she ducked under a branch.

Corey thought for a moment, "Hmm, well today is March twenty-third, so I guess ten days."

"What!" Nina exclaimed then covered her mouth when she realised how loud she'd shouted, "Sorry, but seriously, ten days? Did you get lost?"

"No. I've been studying the Pokemon that live here. I'm a Pokemon Watcher."

"A Pokemon Watcher? As in people who study Pokemon in their natural habitats?"

Corey nodded, "Yeah, that's right. We also study Pokemon that belong to people and how both wild and trained Pokemon interact with each other."

"That's really cool. You must know a lot about Pokemon," the admiration in her face made Corey blush.

"Oh, I don't know about that. I've only read a little about some of them and only seen a few in this forest. I'm still really new to it all."

"Well, I bet you still know more than me. I don't know much about Pokemon, just some things I learned in school. I only know about Linoone's personality because he's been with me for years. There's so much I need to learn, but hey, we've all gotta start somewhere right?"

"Yeah, that's right," he smiled.

"Li!"

They looked up ahead and saw their three Pokemon crouched low behind some bushes and gesturing them over. As they got closer, they could hear Pokemon playing. They crouched down and quietly moved closer so they wouldn't be noticed. Nina poked her head over a bush and saw the two Shinx poking and pawing at the Pokedex.

"I hope the Pokedex isn't damaged, I fear to think what Professor Rowan will think of me if he finds out I lost and broke it on my first day," Nina whispered, "What are we going to do?"

"We don't want them getting spooked and running off again, so we'll have to corner them, but don't attack them. It's better if we just get the Pokedex back and leave."

Nina nodded and turned to Linoone and Chimchar, "I need you both to distract them. Try and get the Pokedex, but if you can't then get them away so we can make a grab for it."

"You go too, Eevee."

The three Pokemon nodded and done as instructed. They snuck around to the other side of the Shinx and stood in positions surrounding them. With a nod from Linoone, Chimchar jumped out from the bush, followed by Eevee at the opposite side. The two Shinx jumped in surprise and their fur started to glow. They instantly recognized Chimchar and took up a defensive stance and started charging up their energy. With their backs to each other and facing their opponents, they were unaware of the others waiting for their chance. Seeing they were distracted, Linoone darted out from behind the bushes towards the Pokedex. The Shinx however noticed and both shot their charged electricity at Linoone, who didn't have time to dodge it. Linoone yelped and fell down.

Nina and Corey jumped out from their hiding place, startling the Shinx. One of them picked up the Pokedex in their mouth and was about to make a run for it but realized they were surrounded. They stood together, their heads turning to each of their pursuers. They looked terrified.

"We don't want to hurt you, Shinx, we just want that Pokedex back," said Corey and took a step forward only to wish he hadn't. The Shinx burst into tears.

"Shinx, please stop, we're not going to hurt you," Nina pleaded as their cries echoed loudly.

A chill ran up Corey's spine as the realisation hit him. He turned to Eevee, "Quick, Eevee, get the Pokedex."

Eevee dashed for the Shinx with the Pokedex when a powerful bolt of lightning struck the ground and sent her flying back.

A shadow jumped from behind the trees and landed in front of the Shinx and they instantly stopped crying.

Nina and Corey flinched as the large saviour leered at them with golden eyes. Its black and blue fur stood on end as it growled at them threateningly.

"Is that a Luxray?!" Nina shook in terror, "I didn't know there were wild Luxray here."

"I think it's the Shinx's mother."

Nina gulped. She had no intention of antagonising her, she just really needed her Pokedex back, but Luxray was standing right in front of it.

"L-Luxray...," she said slowly, her voice shaking.

Luxray's eyes focused on her and she felt her blood go cold. She was now as terrified as the Shinx had been a moment ago.

"Luxray, please, we're not going to hurt your babies. We just want that Pokedex they took back."

Luxray growled even louder causing Nina to flinch. Eevee, Linoone and Chimchar had all backed away closer to their trainers, both to get away from Luxray and to help protect their trainers if they needed to. It didn't matter what they did, Luxray wasn't listening to them.

Corey's eyes had been so fixated on Luxray at first that he hadn't noticed the Shinx back away into the bushes with the Pokedex. The only problem was Luxray was blocking their path to them. He looked at Nina and her Pokemon when an idea struck him.

"Hey, Nina," he whispered, hoping Luxray couldn't hear.

"Y-yeah?" she stuttered; eyes locked on Luxray.

"I have an idea. The Shinx that has your Pokedex has backed away from Luxray. If Eevee and Chimchar distract Luxray, you can have Linoone try for the Pokedex again."

"Are you sure? Luxray is too strong," she said unsure.

"It's worth a try."

Nina nodded. At this rate, they were getting nowhere. She could just leave and pretend it didn't happen but the Pokedex was an important device given to few trainers and Professor Rowan had trusted her to keep it safe. She had to get it back no matter what.

"Did you guys hear that?" she asked her Pokemon and they both nodded but it was clear they were afraid, especially Chimchar, whose whole body shook, his eyes never leaving Luxray. She wanted to comfort him but she too was scared and knew they had no time to waste. They had to do this quickly, "Alright, Corey, when you're ready."

Corey kept his gaze on Luxray as her eyes sharply switched between them. A few minutes of silence passed as he waited for the right moment, his body beginning to shake with tension. And then he saw it, "Eevee, use Sand-Attack!"

Eevee jumped forward and dug her back paws into the ground and kicked dirt up at her opponent. Luxray roared as the dirt went into her eyes.

"Now, Linoone!"

Linoone dashed passed Luxray and towards the Shinx. Luxray spun around and blindly shot lightning at Linoone but missed by a few inches.

"Chimchar, use Scratch!"

Chimchar, however, did not move as he was frozen with fear. Luxray cleared the dirt from her eyes and swiped her claws at Chimchar, knocking him back.

Nina ran to him and he got back up and hid behind her. She was glad to see he wasn't hurt but his fear of Luxray was preventing him from fighting.

Nina screamed and dropped down to embrace Chimchar as Luxray roared and prepared to lunge.

"Eevee, use Tackle!" called Corey and Eevee rammed into Luxray.

While the others distracted Luxray, Linoone managed to back the Shinx into a tree. They threatened him by releasing sparks from their bodies, but he was determined to not let them beat him again. They shook in fright as he closed in on them.

"Li!" he yelled.

The Shinx with the Pokedex cried in fright, dropping the device. Linoone took his chance and dashed for it. He grabbed it in his mouth before taking a sharp turn and headed back to the others. As he was about to jump through the bushes but Luxray appeared in front of him and he skidded to a halt.

"Luxray!" she yelled and struck Linoone with a bolt of electricity.

"Linoone!" Nina cried at seeing her Pokemon attacked, "Quick, Chimchar, use ember!"

But again, the chimp Pokemon was too scared and cowered behind her. Nina sighed in frustration and searched frantically for something to help her but all she could find were some twigs and stones. Taking her chances, she grabbed them and started throwing them at Luxray in hopes of getting her away from Linoone.

Luxray growled and knocked most of them away and was about to attack but jumped away to dodge a tackle from Eevee. She backed closer to her young as the trainers and their Pokemon gathered around Linoone.

Corey quickly grabbed the Pokedex while Nina lifted the injured Linoone into her arms.

"It's alright, Luxray, we've got what we came for. We're leaving now," Corey said and motioned for them to back away.

Nina's heart filled with relief as they managed to get a decent amount of distance away when Luxray roared loudly and charged.

"Run!"


	4. Chapter 4

Lying sprawled on the ground, huffing and puffing in deep breaths, was Nina, Linoone and Chimchar. They had no idea when they had lost sight of Luxray – or when it bothered to stop chasing them – but they managed to find their way back to route 202, much to Nina's relief.

Shielding the sun from her eyes she sat up, breathing now under control, "Is everyone OK?"

Linoone, Corey and Eevee nodded in response but when she looked at Chimchar his sad gaze was focused on the ground, unable to look at them. With a frown, Nina crawled over to him, "Hey Chimchar, you OK?"

"Char," he said sadly. He was disappointed in himself.

"If you feel bad for not fighting Luxray, don't be. I know you were scared, and trust me, I was too. But it's over now, no need to worry about it anymore," she said and offered a hug.

He looked at her sadly, tears on the brim of his big eyes, and glanced at Linoone guiltily, expecting him to be displeased with him, but Linoone's eyes shined with reassurance and a nod from him told Chimchar there were no hard feelings between them.

Chimchar felt his heart lighten and accepted Nina's hug. He was already starting to feel better.

Satisfied Chimchar was alright she turned to her new companions – Corey was leaning against a tree and Eevee sitting calmly having caught her breath.

"You know; I don't think I've ever run so fast in my life," Nina said.

"Me neither," chuckled Corey, "How's your Pokedex?"

Nina fished in her pocket for her Pokedex to check for any damage. There was a tiny scratch on the cover but when she opened it and tested the buttons it was working perfectly. She released a shaky breath.

"Phew, it's still working. Boy, I sure am glad you came along, Corey. I've not had the greatest start to my journey, and I don't know what I would be doing if you hadn't come along when you did."

"Don't mention it. I was glad to help," Corey smiled, "What were you doing before all this happened?"

"We were heading to Jubilife City so we can stock up for our travels. But I suppose we'll have to wait until morning to do our shopping. No doubt the shops will be closed by the time we get there. What about you?"

Corey thought for a moment then scratched the back of his neck, "I'm not really sure. Eevee and I are just wandering and exploring new places. But since we've been in the forest for a while, I guess it would be better to head past Jubilife City and see other places. I could do with getting some more food too."

Nina suddenly jumped to her feet, "Hey, why don't you and Eevee come with us? We're going to be heading all over Sinnoh anyway to compete in gym battles. It'd be great to have someone else with us. What do you say?"

Corey was a little taken aback by the request but a quick glance at Eevee bouncing around excitedly and the agreeing nods from Linoone and Chimchar made him smile, "Sure, we'd love to."

Although it took hours for them to reach the outskirts of Jubilife City, Nina hardly noticed as Corey told her all about what he learned during his time in the forest. The story of the Kricketot tune fascinated her and the mention of chocolate fudge cake made her mouth drool just like Corey's had.

She also learned that Corey was from Twinleaf Town and had started his journey on March 9th with Eevee who was given to him as a birthday present from his older brother Liam. He too was a Pokemon researcher and taught at the trainer's schools in Hearthome City.

It was almost dark by the time they reached Jubilife City. Nina gasped in awe at the sight of the evening sun casting its orange glow on the tall buildings. It had been a while since she was last in the city but never had she seen it past noon. She had forgotten how remarkable it looked. Jubilife City was the capital of Sinnoh and the home of the Sinnoh Television Station, the Poketch Company. There was also a Trainers School where trainers of all ages can go to learn more about Pokemon.

"The city looks so pretty at night," Nina said as she took in the sights.

Corey nodded in agreement, "And it looks like the restaurants are still open. Want to go for some dinner?"

Nina and Linoone's eyes lit up at the mention of food, "We'd love to!"

They made their way over to a restaurant called Sun-Flora's and took a seat at a table outside. The restaurant wasn't too busy inside but because it was a nice night they wanted to sit outside.

A waitress came over to their table with a clipboard to take their order. Once they ordered she went back inside the restaurant and returned a few minutes later with drinks. Nina smiled as Chimchar and Linoone happily drank their berry juice. On their way back to Route 202 Nina had offered Linoone and Chimchar berries as a treat for doing well and learned that while Linoone favoured sour or sweet berries, Chimchar had opted for the spicy flavours.

"They sure like those berry drinks, "Corey said while sipping a glass of apple juice.

Nina nodded, "I knew Linoone would because he's always eating the berries we grow at home, but he only really likes the sour or sweet ones so I'm glad to see that Chimchar likes the spicy ones and that they won't go to waste."

"Eevee here has a sweet tooth like me," Corey smiled and ruffled his Pokemon's fur, "How did you and Linoone meet? You said you've been friends for years."

Nina smiled, "It was when I was six years old and I was playing outside near the forest. I heard someone crying, so I went to see what it was and found an injured Zigzagoon. I thought about running to get help but then I changed my mind and took him to Professor Rowan's lab myself. I didn't want to leave his side, even though my parents kept telling me he'd be OK, so Professor Rowan set up a bed for me to sleep in while I waited, and then the next morning I woke up and Zigzagoon was lying next to me asleep. Since then we've been the best of friends," She smiled at the memory, that day had changed her life.

A grin stretched onto Corey's face. He definitely had a connection with Nina; they both had so much in common when it came to how they felt about Pokemon. He knew from the moment he met her that there was something special about her. Anyone could see that she deeply cared about her Pokemon.

It wasn't long until their dinner arrived and for Corey to realize that Nina and Linoone loved to eat. Even Chimchar was surprised by how quickly and how much they ate. When the sun had set and the street lights come on, Nina and Linoone were finally satisfied and full and they all made their way to the Pokemart. Nina forgot they were open twenty-four hours a day in the cities.

"So, where do you want to start?" Said Corey but when he turned to look at Nina she was gone. She had rushed off to browse the shelves. She was so quick to look at things and move around that it took him a while to find her again. She was looking at a shelf of potions and antidotes when he finally found her. She picked one them up and examined it.

"Heals Pokemon that are suffering from burns," she read from the label then looked at Chimchar, who was looking around at everything.

"This could come in handy when training," she said and added it to the basket she'd picked up at the door. She placed a few more antidotes and regular potions in the basket then made her way around the other shelves. The Pokemart had a large variety of items and she had no problem finding what she needed, including some food and more films for her camera. She made her way outside to find Corey and Eevee waiting for her as he'd finished shopping long before she had.

"You got everything you need?" he asked.

"Yup! I'm all set," she grinned.

"Great. We should check into the Pokemon Center and-" he cut off when Nina flinched, "What?"

"I just remembered I forgot to call my Mum! I promised her I would call as soon as I got to the city!" she panicked and rushed off to find a call-box. She managed to find one near some benches in the centre of the city. She dialled in her home number and waited a few minutes for her mum to pick up. Fey's face popped up on the screen.

"Oh, Nina, thank goodness!" Fey breathed in relief, "I was beginning to worry that something happened to you!"

Nina laughed nervously and scratched the back of her head, "Err, yeah, sorry about that. When I got to the city, I completely forgot about calling you."

Fey shook her head in amusement, "What am I going to do with you? Where are your Pokemon?"

Just then the others caught up to her.

"Here they are. Mum, I would like you to meet Chimchar," she said and held him up in front of the screen for her to see, "Chimchar, this is my Mum. Say hi."

Chimchar bounced happily and waved at Fey. Fey chuckled and waved back, "Why, hello there, Chimchar."

"And this is Corey," Nina grabbed his arm as he was standing to the side and pulled him into view. Corey blushed in embarrassment as they greeted each other. Nina proceeded to tell her mum about how they met and why it had taken her so long to call her.

Fey gasped, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine Mum, thanks to Corey."

Fey breathed another sigh of relief, "I'm very grateful to you, Corey. I'm sure you've already noticed how clumsy Nina can be so you can probably understand my worry."

Nina blushed, "Mum!"

Corey blushed, "It was no problem Mrs Devalo."

Fey chuckled, "You've certainly had an eventful first day. I think it's time you called it a night. You'd better get checked into the Pokemon Center and get some rest."

Nina looked at the time on the bottom of the call-box screen. It was almost ten o'clock. Nina's eyelids suddenly felt heavy and she yawned, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

They all bid goodnight to Fey and checked into the Pokemon Center. As soon as Nina's head hit her pillow she was out like a light.


	5. Chapter 5

**Wednesday - March 24****th**

The next morning, after a hearty breakfast, they went back out into the city to explore. The city was bustling with life as people of all ages went about their daily business. There weren't as many Pokemon around as Nina had thought but had spotted and Pokedexed information on a Glameow, Machop and Magnemite that belonged to trainers, as did Corey to her surprise.

After a good few hours of browsing the gift shops, they decided to take a break by the large fountain near the TV Station when they noticed a large number of people had gathered. Nina and Corey shared a glance before joining the crowd.

A man in a dark brown business suit stood at the head of the crowd, along with a cameraman and a television interviewer, and appeared on the large screen on the TV Tower behind them.

"Gather round everyone, gather round," he said and gestured for people passing by to come closer, "To celebrate the fifth anniversary of the opening of the Poketch Company, I, as the head of the company, have elected to hold a tournament of Pokemon battles for young trainers under the age of fifteen with the winning prize of a free Poketch,"

All the trainers started chatting with excitement. The man held a hand up to quiet them down, "The trainer who takes first place in the competition will win one of our latest models, free of charge, and the runner up will be given one of the older models, also free of charge,"

"Sir, when will this competition be held?" the interviewer asked over the loud cheers.

The man smiled, "The competition will be held this Friday afternoon at noon in the Centre Square. Any who wish to participate has until then to prepare. And make sure to be present outside the Poketch Company building on Friday before eleven AM to sign up. Thank you for your time," he said, and the group disbanded.

All the trainers that were gathered walked away, talking excitedly with their friends, leaving Corey and Nina the only ones still standing where the interview had taken place.

"That sounds really exciting. Are you going to enter?" Corey asked.

Nina thought about it. A Poketch was expensive to buy and one would come in handy, but she still hadn't had any training or experience on battling.

"I'm not sure, the chances of me winning against other trainers are next to nothing," she said.

"You don't know that for sure. Besides, you have today and tomorrow to train. It's worth a shot."

Nina smiled, "Yeah, you're right. I need to start training soon anyway for gym battles. Might as well start now. But what should we do first?"

They both pondered for a moment when an idea struck Corey, "Why don't we head to the Trainer's School? They teach all sorts of things and I bet we could come up with some ideas there."

"Great idea! Let's head there now."

The Trainer's School was normally quiet with only a few local children there for their daily lessons, but with the announcement of the competition, it was suddenly packed full of trainers hoping of finding any information that would help them win the competition.

Corey sat next to Nina whose pencil had been scribbling across the notebook the teacher given her so fast that he was afraid that it was going to catch fire. Nina had written down everything the teacher said and copied everything from the blackboard to perfection. Then after they had a lunch break, they went outside, and the teacher observed the trainer's relationship with their Pokemon as they demonstrated their Pokemon's speed and physical strength. He was impressed with Nina's bond with Linoone, but although she and Chimchar got on really well it was clear they needed to work together more to improve Chimchar's confidence. When the class finished for the day Nina breathed a sigh of relief. It was only just after five o'clock and was still quite warm, so they decide to eat out again, but this time by the benches at the fountain with their own food.

"So, did you manage to write down _everything_ the teacher said?" Corey asked as he ate his dinner. Nina was sitting beside him while their Pokemon played around them; Chimchar staying clear of the fountain.

"Sure did word for word. But I didn't really understand what he was saying so I'll have to read over my notes again."

"No wonder. Your hand was darting back and forth across the paper so fast that it was almost a blur. I think the teacher was a little alarmed, that's why he would pause now and again to give your pencil and paper a rest," he chuckled.

Nina laughed, "I just like to get everything written down in case I miss anything important," she gulped down a large mouthful of food, "And I don't think these two were paying any attention," Linoone and Chimchar exchanged looks then pretended they hadn't heard her and continued to play, ignoring the playful-stern look she was giving them, "So, it's just as well that I took notes, otherwise we could be in trouble."

"Are you going to get some training done tonight?"

"Hmm," she thought, "Well, it would be good to start tonight so we can have a break in the morning then start training again in the afternoon. That way we won't have to spend the entire day training and tiring these two out."

Corey nodded, "The Pokemon Center has training grounds out back so if we go there you can head straight to bed when you're finished."

"Perfect," Nina said and once they had finished their dinner, they all headed to the training grounds. When they got there, they were surprised to find it completely empty, "Huh, that's odd, I thought there would be other trainers here practicing for the competition."

"Maybe they've already done some training? It's getting late after all," Corey suggested.

"Yeah, and there's still tomorrow to train," Nina clapped her hands together, "Oh well, at least we can train in peace then, that way no one will know our battle strategy."

Nina walked over to the side of the arena and took her bag off. She dug inside and took out her notebook, "Alright, let's see here," she said and scanned the writing while the others waited.

Corey sat down next to her and took off his own bag, "If you want, I could read some notes out to you?"

Nina smiled, "Great idea," she handed him the notebook and ran over to the arena where her Pokemon were waiting.

Corey opened the notebook and read the first paragraph aloud.

"'The most important thing between a trainer and Pokemon is their relationship. For a Pokemon and trainer to cooperate successfully they need to have a strong bond so that they can work together proficiently. Both the trainer and Pokemon need to understand each other and the ways they behave. Having little understanding of each other can lead to frustration and the Pokemon disobeying the trainer. To avoid this, the trainer must become knowledgeable of their Pokemon's personality, taking note of their likes and dislikes.'" Corey read out then looked up, "Remember what the teacher said? You already have a strong bond with Linoone so why don't you and Chimchar take time to get to know each other?"

Nina nodded, "Sure, but how am I going to do that?"

"Perhaps I could help?"

Everyone turned their attention towards the side alley of the Pokemon Center. A young woman in her early twenties was leaning against the wall beside the backdoor. She was tall and had long blonde hair flowing passed her waist. She had long bangs at either side of her face curling forward at her shoulders and a long fringe that completely covered her left eye. She wore a short black jacket with white sleeves, and a white shirt with a single black vertical stripe, black trousers and black high heel shoes.

'_How long has she been standing there?_' Nina thought to herself.

The woman smiled and stood in front of Nina and her Pokemon, "Perhaps I could be your training partner?" she asked.

Nina looked at her friends. Linoone nodded to her to show that they approved, "Sure, thank you," Nina smiled.

The woman nodded and walked over to the other side of the arena, "From what I heard of your conversation it sounds like you need to create a bond with Chimchar more than Linoone right now, so I would suggest using him first."

Nina nodded, "Sure, you up for it Chimchar?" Chimchar nodded and Linoone ran over to sit with Eevee and Corey who had a pencil and a new page ready in Nina's notebook.

"I'll take some notes for you, Nina," he said and she nodded in thanks.

The woman reached into a pocket and pulled out a Pokeball. She tossed it into the air and a red glow emitted from it. Nina and Chimchar gasped in horror as the glow took the form of a large creature. It was a blue, red and yellow bipedal shark-like Pokemon with a long tail and spikes on its legs. It had a large fin on each of its arms - almost like blades - one on its back and one on its tail tip. Its black and gold eyes gave it a menacing appearance.

"What in the world is that?" Nina exclaimed with a mixture of panic and amazement. She pulled out her Pokedex, as did Corey with his, and scanned it.

"Garchomp, the Mach Pokemon. Its body is covered in fine scales that reduce drag, enabling it to fly at high speeds."

"A Garchomp huh? Sure is a scary looking Pokemon, I bet it's really tough," Nina said to herself and placed the Pokedex back in her pocket.

"You can use Garchomp to practice Chimchar's moves on and seeing as you're a beginner I won't allow her to attack back," the woman said, "So, whenever you're ready."

Nina nodded, "Alright, Chimchar, let's do this! Use scratch!" Chimchar didn't move. Perhaps he didn't hear her.

"Chimchar, use Scratch!" again he didn't move; he just stood in the centre of the arena, frozen to the spot and not taking his eyes off the large predator Pokemon.

"It looks to me like Chimchar is petrified of Garchomp. Poor little guy," Corey said. Linoone and Eevee nodded in sympathy at their friend. Who wouldn't be?

Nina knelt beside Chimchar and placed a hand on his shoulder, startling him, "Hey Chimchar it's alright, Garchomp isn't going to hurt you," Nina tried to reassure him.

Chimchar looked from Nina then back to Garchomp who was standing completely still but had her black and yellow eyes fixed on the little fire Pokemon. Chimchar flinched and jumped into Nina's arms.

Nina rubbed his back soothingly as he cried, "Hey, it's alright, Chimchar, don't cry."

The woman and her Garchomp walked over to them as Nina tried to calm the frightened Pokemon.

"Come on, Chimchar, please stop crying," Nina tried again to calm him down, but it wasn't working.

"Hmm, maybe this will help," the woman reached into a pocket and pulled out a small silver bell. She shook it and it gave out a soft jingle.

Chimchar immediately stopped crying and turned his attention to the little bell in her hand.

"Take this, Chimchar," she said and held it out for the Pokemon.

Chimchar looked at it for a moment then reached out to hold it. He was so focused on playing with the bell that he'd completely forgotten about Garchomp.

Nina looked at the little bell in Chimchar's hands, "What is that?"

"It's called a Soothe Bell. It calms down any distressed Pokemon that hold it," she said, "I always carry one in case any of my Pokemon get distressed and I cannot calm them."

Chimchar shook the little bell and it chimed. He bounced happily but when he looked up at Garchomp he backed away fearfully.

"Chimchar's calmed down but he's still afraid of Garchomp," Nina said.

"We just need to work on his confidence a little. Instead of going for a head-on attack, this time try an attack where he doesn't need to get too close. What other moves does Chimchar know?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Friday – March 26th**

Nina woke early on Friday morning. Since she started her training on Wednesday she was really looking forward to the competition. Chimchar had really progressed in his confidence thanks to the Soothe Bell that he'd been given, although there was still work to be done. Linoone proved to be much stronger than Nina first anticipated, but his downfall was that he wasn't very good at dodging and took a lot of damage against Garchomp. But the woman had encouraged them both, along with Corey, and they were positive that they were going to do well.

Corey had also tried some training with Eevee, and Nina learned that while she preferred a more direct approach to battling, Corey preferred tactics, which the woman pointed out they could learn from each other as both were needed in battles.

The two trainers had thanked the woman for her help but had completely forgotten to ask her for her name and by the time they realized she was gone. However, Nina managed to get a photo of her and Garchomp before she left. They took the lessons they learned from her and trained most of Thursday and with a quick call to her mum, who assured she would be watching on television, Nina was feeling ready. But when Friday morning came, both she and Chimchar were feeling queasy with nerves.

"The competition will be starting soon so we should head over to the centre square," Corey said.

They were sitting on a bench outside the Pokemon Centre. Nina was looking through her notebook and reading the notes she and Corey had written from their training the last two days. Linoone and Eevee were sitting with Chimchar and appeared to be giving him some words of encouragement.

Nina read the last sentence on the page she was on then closed it, "Yeah, you're probably right, we don't want to be late."

They put away their belongings into their bags and Linoone and Chimchar jumped onto Nina's shoulders, while Corey lifted Eevee into his arms, and headed off to the centre square. There was a large group of people gathered, including the trainers taking part. Some trainers from other cities arrived the day before to train and now there were sixteen trainers, including Nina, taking part in the competition. There was also a referee, an announcer, the president of the Poketch Company, a television crew, townsfolk and Nurse Joy there to heal the Pokemon after battles. As they neared, Nina saw the area where the trainers taking part were standing.

"I guess that's where I'm supposed to go," Nina said nervously.

"I'll try to find a space at the front. And don't worry, you'll do great," Corey gave her a reassuring smile and Eevee sounded her agreement.

Nina smiled with a nod and was about to take off when she had an idea, "Oh, hold on a second, Corey," she knelt down and pulled her bag off her shoulder. She opened one of the side compartments and brought out her camera, "Could you take some photos of the competition?"

Corey nodded and took the camera, "Sure, no problem. I can take your bag too if you want?" She handed him the bag and he headed off into the crowd.

With Linoone and Chimchar back on her shoulders, Nina headed over to where the other trainers were standing. They were gathered around a board where their names were listed and paired with their opponents.

"All participating trainers please gather round," Said the announcer, "The competition is a battle contest; trainers will be split into groups of two and face off in a battle, the winner of each battle will move up on the board until there is a winner. Each trainer will only be allowed to use one Pokemon for the entire competition so please choose your Pokemon wisely, and no items held by a Pokemon are allowed."

There were a few mumbles amongst the trainers.

"You will be given five minutes to prepare before the competition begins," he said and the group disbanded.

Nina looked at the board to find her name. Her match wasn't until the sixth round against a trainer called Ben. She looked around at the other trainers.

"They all look pretty tough," Nina said, "So, which one of you would like to enter?" she asked, although she already knew the answer.

Linoone smiled at Chimchar who nodded in return, determined to do his best

"I thought as much," Nina smiled and knelt down, "Alright, Linoone, if you want, you can go look for Corey and Eevee and sit with them to watch."

Linoone nodded, jumped off her shoulder and headed into the crowd to look for the trainer. He managed to find him sitting on the edge of the large fountain where some Pokemon and young children splashed in the cool water. Linoone ran over to him and sat beside him.

"Hey Linoone," he said when he noticed the Pokemon, "I guess Nina decided to use Chimchar for this battle, huh?"

Linoone started clawing at Nina's bag. Corey knew what he was trying to do. He reached over to Nina's bag and opened one of the side compartments and pulled out the tub of berries.

"Here you go, but remember not to eat them all, or Nina will kill us both," he chuckled and Linoone and Eevee happily munched away.

"Now that all trainers have selected the Pokemon that will be participating, let's get this show on the road!" The announcer said and a cheer erupted from the crowd, "Alright, in the first battle we have young trainer Chloe and her Pokemon Shellos!"

The crowd cheered and a young girl with black hair tied up into two pigtails walked over to her side of the temporary arena. Her Pokemon was small and slug-like and was pink just like its trainer's dress.

Nina pulled out her Pokedex and scanned the Pokemon.

"Shellos, the Sea Slug Pokemon. It lives along bodies of water. Its shape and colouration vary, depending on its habitat."

"It's really cute," Nina said and checked more data on it. Shellos was a water type and the pink colouration was the kind that lived in the western sea area. It also knew the moves; Water Pulse, Mud Bomb and Body Slam, "Wow, those are some pretty good moves."

"And Chloe's first opponent will be Danny and his Bibarel!"

A boy with dark purple hair concealed mostly by a blue bandana walked to his side of the arena followed by a brown beaver-like Pokemon half the trainer's height. Again, Nina scanned the Pokemon.

"Bibarel, the Beaver Pokemon. It busily makes its nest with branches and roots it has cut up with is sharp incisors."

Danny's Bibarel was also part water type and knew the moves; Defense Curl, Rollout and Water Gun.

"Two water types, huh? This should be interesting."

"Alright trainers, let the battle begin!" the announcer cried over the cheers.

Nina couldn't contain her excitement as she watched the battle unfold. For years she'd watched trainers battle in competitions on the television but had never seen one in front of her very own eyes. To see how the trainer and their Pokemon worked together using various moves and techniques amazed her, and to be honest, it made her a more nervous about her own battle. These trainers weren't as skilled as those seen on the television, but they still had more experience than her. But as the woman from the other night had told her; she had to pay close attention to her opponent's battle strategy and that way she could figure out a way to work around it. With those words, and what she had learned from school, she knew she would be fine if she concentrated.

It didn't take long for the first battle to end and a victory to Chloe and her Shellos. Although it was clear by Danny's expression that he was disappointed at his loss, he smiled nonetheless and shook his opponent's hand in congratulations.

Time seemed to be flying by quickly as the competition went on and it was already time for the sixth battle and Nina and Chimchar's turn. They both walked over to their side as the announcer called their names and the crowd cheered. Nina nervously smiled and waved to the camera that was pointing at her, trying her best to ignore the butterflies in her stomach. She noticed her friends sitting by the fountain waving at her and she waved back.

"And up against Nina, we have Ben and his Growlithe!"

A boy with messy light blue hair stood at the opposite side of the arena. His Growlithe was a small canine-Pokemon with orange fur and black stripes. It had a furry sandy coloured tail, chest and head tuft. Nina scanned the Pokemon.

"Growlithe, the Puppy Pokemon. It has a brave and trustworthy nature. It fearlessly stands up to bigger and stronger foes."

Growlithe was a fire type Pokemon just like Chimchar, which could prove to be difficult to battle since Chimchar only knew two moves and Growlithe knew three.

'_No matter, we can still do this_,' she thought to herself, still trying to keep her nerves under control, "You ready Chimchar?"

Chimchar was also still nervous but he pushed it to the back of his mind and nodded determinedly.

"Let the battle begin!"

Before Nina could utter a word, Ben commanded his Growlithe to attack with Ember. Growlithe howled and shot a blast of tiny flames at Chimchar.

"Quick, Chimchar, dodge it!" Nina cried. Even though Ember was a fire type move it could still cause a little damage.

Chimchar jumped back out of the Ember's path.

"Great, now use Scratch!"

"Chimchar!" he roared and ran towards Growlithe. He leapt at his opponent and swiped his nails across its face. Growlithe howled and fell down.

"Growlithe, use Leer!"

Growlithe jumped back onto its feet, took a defensive pose and snarled at Chimchar. Growlithe's eyes gleamed menacingly, causing Chimchar to flinch in fear.

"Good, now use Flame Wheel!"

Growlithe jumped up then curled up into a ball. Its body became engulfed in flames and spun towards Chimchar alarmingly fast.

"Chimchar, dodge it!" Nina yelled but Chimchar wasn't quick enough and was knocked to the ground, "Chimchar, are you alright?"

Chimchar rubbed his head then stood up and nodded. The attack seemed to have done quite a bit of damage.

"Growlithe, use Flame Wheel again!"

Growlithe's body engulfed in flames and charged again.

"Dodge it, Chimchar, then use Scratch!"

Chimchar managed to dodge this time by jumping to the side then proceeded to attack Growlithe with a fierce round of attacks. Growlithe howled again, fell down and winced, signalling to Nina that the attack had done a good bit of damage.

"Great job, Chimchar, now use Ember!"

Chimchar opened his mouth and shot a round of tiny flames at Growlithe. Now that Growlithe had been weakened, even a fire type move would hurt. Growlithe howled as the tiny flames burst like tiny fireworks when they made contact with its body.

"Good, now finish with Scratch!"

Chimchar swiped his nails across Growlithe a few times and it fell down unconscious.

"Growlithe is unable to battle; the victory goes to Nina and Chimchar!" Said the referee and the crowd cheered for them.

Nina and Chimchar jumped up and down, "Yay, we won!" Nina cheered and Chimchar jumped into her arms, "We won our first battle Chimchar! You were brilliant!"

Chimchar bounced happily, "That was a good battle. Your Chimchar sure is tough," Ben smiled as he carried Growlithe over to them.

Nina smiled, "Thanks, your Growlithe is really tough too. That Flame Wheel attack was awesome."

The two trainers shook hands and both headed over to Nurse Joy to get the two Pokemon healed. Nina let Ben and Growlithe to go first, seeing as they took more damage. Once they were done they thanked Nurse Joy. Ben wished Nina and Chimchar luck in their next battle and headed into the crowd.


	7. Chapter 7

"Poochyena, use Bite!"

The small dark grey canine Pokemon obeyed and rushed towards its opponent; a small light blue elephant-like Pokemon.

"Quick, Phanpy, use Defence Curl!" Said its trainer; a young girl with shoulder length magenta coloured hair.

The small elephant curled into a ball just in time to block Poochyena's attack. Poochyena staggered back, its attack doing nothing.

"Good job, Phanpy, now use Rollout!"

Still curled into a ball, Phanpy rolled at high speed towards Poochyena.

"Poochyena, use Dig to dodge it!"

Poochyena dug its paws into the ground and swiftly disappeared underground. Phanpy stopped in its tracks and looked around the area to see where Poochyena would reappear.

"Uh oh, it looks like Poochyena has taken cover underground. This could prove difficult for Marley and Phanpy!" the announcer said into his microphone.

"Phanpy, pay close attention to the battleground and listen for Poochyena!" Marley said and Phanpy nodded.

The spiky-haired blonde boy smirked, "Now, Poochyena!"

Poochyena burst out from the ground behind Phanpy, rocks flying up with it.

"Now hit the rocks down at Phanpy!"

Poochyena kicked the rocks with its paws, sending them crashing onto Phanpy.

"Oh no, Phanpy!" Marley cried as Phanpy took damage. Being a Ground-type Phanpy didn't take as much damage from the rocks as other types would, but it still had an effect.

"Now, finish it off with Take Down!"

Poochyena howled as it landed back on the ground then charged at Phanpy and crashed into the elephant Pokemon. Phanpy landed with a loud thud in the middle of the arena unconscious.

"Phanpy is unable to battle; the winner of this round is Darryl and Poochyena!"

The crowd cheered, "That was amazing!" said Nina, "The battles are getting so exciting!"

It was almost 14:30 pm and they were into the second round with Chloe, Darryl and a trainer called Steven progressing to the third. Each managed to take out their opponents with ease but the adrenalin Nina was feeling from her first battle was making her look forward to battling one of them for herself.

"Will the trainers competing in the next round please step forward onto the arena."

Nina smiled, "That's us, Chimchar."

"Char!"

They stepped onto the arena for the second time and were faced with Luna; a girl who was a little older than Nina, with golden hair tied back into a ponytail. Her partner Pokemon was a Skorupi.

Once they were both in place, they gave each other a 'good luck' wave and the battle began.

"Alright, Chimchar, let's start off with Ember!" Nina said, '_This is perfect. Skorupi is part bug type, so Chimchar's fire attacks will be super effective._'

"Skorupi, use Pin Missile to counter it!"

The small blue scorpion lifted the two pincers on the side of its head and shot small pins into the flames. On contact, the flames and pins burst into sparks.

"Good job, now use Poison Sting!"

Skorupi raised its tail pincer and small needles shot out towards Chimchar. Chimchar didn't manage to dodge and the needles burst on his skin. When Nina asked him if he was alright, he nodded, but staggered and purple bubbles leaked from his skin.

"Looks like Chimchar has been affected by Skorupi's poison," said the announcer.

"This could be trouble," Corey said aloud to himself, "Nina and Chimchar will need to come up with something quick or the poison will wear Chimchar out."

"Chimchar, use Ember, again!"

Chimchar blasted more flames at Skorupi but it destroyed the flames again with its Pin Missile again.

"Now, use Scratch!"

Chimchar ran to Skorupi.

"Skorupi, grab Chimchar!"

Skorupi moved out of the way of Chimchar's attack and grabbed one of Chimchar's arms in its tail pincer.

Luna smiled, "Good, now throw him into the air then use Poison Sting again."

Chimchar was lifted from the ground and thrown spinning into the air. He cried out as he spun higher, unable to stop.

"Look out, Chimchar!"

Chimchar looked down towards Skorupi and saw the poisonous needles heading his way. He panicked as he could not move to dodge them, and he knew if they hit he was in trouble. He fired another round of ember at them but only hit a few with the rest still coming at him. He caught Nina's worried eyes and his panic changed to determination. He couldn't let her down now. He couldn't lose!

With a mighty cry, flames erupted around him. He tucked his arms and legs close to his body and hurtled himself forward towards Skorupi. The Poison Sting caught in the flames and evaporated on impact, causing no damage.

Nina gasped in amazement as Chimchar came crashing down on top of Skorupi. A billow of smoke surrounded the area where Chimchar had crashed. The crowd gasped in anticipation for the smoke to clear and reveal the result. Nina crossed her fingers and focused her gaze on the shadow in the smoke, silently praying. Once it cleared, they saw a dazed Chimchar staring down at his unconscious opponent.

"Amazing! It looks like Chimchar just managed to finish his opponent off with his newly learned Flame Wheel attack!"

As the crowd cheered, Chimchar continued to look at Skorupi dumbfounded. What just happened?

Nina ran over to him, "Wow, Chimchar, I can't believe you just learned Flame Wheel!" She exclaimed proudly and hugged him, "I guess Growlithe's Flame Wheel earlier showed you how to do it," she smiled.

Chimchar bounced happily. He remembered how Growlithe had surrounded itself in fire, so he knew the only way to counter Skorupi's attack was to try something similar. He didn't think it would be successful, but he was glad it was.

Luna walked over to them, "Hey, congratulations on learning Flame Wheel, Chimchar," she said with a smile.

Chimchar smiled back and they all headed over to Nurse Joy to get healed up again.

The announcer exchanged a few words with the President of the Poketch Company before turning back to the audience, "Alright folks, before the third round we're going to take a thirty-minute break so everyone can have some lunch that we have prepared for everyone's enjoyment, free of charge. The competition will continue at 15:00 pm."

Everyone smiled with joy, as just outside the Television Station many tables and chairs were set out beside long tables with food for people and their Pokemon to help themselves to. A queue started to form as everyone made their way to the buffet.

"Hey guys," Corey cheered as he walked over to them while Nurse Joy healed Chimchar. He was carrying Nina's bag in one hand and her camera in the other, "You guys are doing great. That Flame Wheel you used, Chimchar, was amazing. Good job."

"Thanks," Nina and Chimchar smiled.

"That should do it," Said Nurse Joy. Chimchar jumped up.

"Char!" he said happily, feeling the poison effects wear off.

"Thanks again, Nurse Joy," Nina said and Chimchar climbed onto her shoulder.

"You're welcome, Nina. Now go and get some lunch before your next battle, but remember not to eat too much," Nurse Joy advised with a smile.

However, Nina did not take Nurse Joy's advice and piled up her plate like a mountain; the temptation of delicious food too good to ignore. Linoone was unsurprisingly hungry again, so he helped Nina finish her plate of food, despite having eaten the rest of the berries; which Nina still didn't know about yet. Chimchar, however, did take Nurse Joy's advice and only ate enough to give him some energy, as did Corey and Eevee.

"The competition will continue in ten minutes time everyone, so finish up what you're doing and head back over to the centre square for the next round," they heard the announcer's voice over the speakers.

Nina stretched in her seat, "That was so good!"

Linoone nodded and stroked his bulging belly.

Corey shook his head at them, "You and my brother would get along really well. He eats almost as much as you."

Once everyone finished their meal and were back in the centre square the competition continued. Chloe and Darryl were up first. They were evenly matched and the battle went on for a while as neither Shellos nor Poochyena looked like they were ready to give up. Nina took to watching their movements carefully because if she won her next battle she would be up against one of them. She realized that while Poochyena was faster, Shellos was stronger and could take more damage. It didn't matter which one of them she would be up against, it would still be a tough battle.

"And the winner is Darryl and Poochyena!" The announcer claimed at the end of the battle which meant that it was now Nina's turn to face Steven. The two trainers and their Pokemon stepped onto the arena.

Steven had light blue hair with a parted fringe reaching to his ears. With him was a green turtle-like Pokemon with two shrubs sprouting from its yellow shell. This Pokemon was Grotle, the evolved form of Turtwig. Grotle was a grass type and was weak against fire type moves, although in the previous battle Grotle battled a flying type, which is also super effective against grass types, and was able to win. Despite having the type advantage, Nina and Chimchar had to be careful.

"The winner of this round will progress to the final!" the announcer cheered, "So, without further ado, let the battle begin!"

"Alright, Chimchar, let's start off with Flame Wheel!" Nina commanded. This Grotle was tough so she wasn't going to waste any time taking it down.

Chimchar rolled into a ball of flames and shot towards Grotle.

"Grotle, use Protect," Steven said calmly.

"Grotle!" it yelled and a green spherical barrier surrounded its body. Chimchar smashed into the barrier and was knocked back. The impact of his own attack caused damage to himself rather than Grotle, who was left unscathed.

"You OK, Chimchar?" Nina asked. He nodded and rubbed his head, "Alright, use Ember!"

Chimchar shot the blast into the barrier but the flames burst on contact, leaving Grotle still protected.

"Oh no, with that barrier up we can't do anything," Nina said to herself.

"Grotle, use Razor Leaf."

The barrier around Grotle disappeared and small razor-sharp leaves shot from the bushes on its shell. The leaves shot to Chimchar, cutting into his skin.

"Char!" Chimchar yelled and winced.

"Now, Grotle, use Tackle!" Steven said and Grotle came charging at Chimchar.

"Quick, Chimchar, use Flame Wheel and take Grotle head on!"

Chimchar curled into a ball of fire again and raced to the charging Grotle. They smashed into each other, creating a bang and smoke to appear around them. Both Pokemon pushed as hard as they could against each other. Grotle was the stronger of the two but the fire that surrounded Chimchar was causing it a lot of trouble.

"You can do it, Chimchar!" Nina encouraged him.

Chimchar yelled and the Flame Wheel grew larger, knocking Grotle backwards. Chimchar spun back and landed on his feet panting. Grotle winced and struggled to its feet.

"Now use Ember again, Chimchar!"

"Grotle, use Leech Seed!"

As Chimchar shot the flames, Grotle dodged the attack and a small brown seed shot from its body and flew towards Chimchar. Chimchar had been so focused on his attack that he didn't see it coming until the seed latched itself onto his head and leafy vines sprouted from it and wrapped around his body. Chimchar struggled against his binds and cried out as he felt his energy start to drain.

"Oh no, Chimchar!"

"Excellent, Grotle, now use Tackle!"

Grotle came charging at Chimchar again and this time Chimchar couldn't move to dodge it. Grotle rammed head first into Chimchar. Chimchar groaned as he landed, and the Leech Seed sapped more of his energy.

"Grotle, let's finish this with Razor Leaf!"

"Chimchar, use Flame Wheel, then dodge!"

Chimchar struggled for a moment but managed to release the flames from his body and the vines binding him burned away in time for him to dodge the Razor Leaves.

"Now go after Grotle!" Nina yelled.

Chimchar rolled up and charged again. Steven dismissed his previous command and commanded Grotle to also charge. The two crashed into each other again. Chimchar pushed hard and Grotle fell back again. With a kick to the ground, Chimchar bounced into the air.

"Brilliant, now use Ember!"

Chimchar shot the flames while still in the air. Grotle didn't have time to move as the Ember rained down on it.

"Now use Flame Wheel one more time!"

Chimchar spun down from the air just like he had in the previous battle and landed on top of Grotle, the impact created more smoke around the arena. When the smoke finally cleared it to reveal Grotle lying on the ground unconscious and Chimchar standing in front of it panting heavily.

"Grotle is unable to battle and the victory goes to Nina and Chimchar, which means they progress to the final round!"


	8. Chapter 8

Nina couldn't believe it; she and Chimchar were in the final round!

'_I guess our training really did pay off,_' Nina thought. She was about to compete in the final round after a ten-minute break to let Chimchar get healed up. Her opponent now was Darryl and Poochyena. Nina knew this battle was going to be tough as she'd watched him progress easily through the rounds. If she was going to win this she would have to give it her all.

"And so, we come to the final round of the competition!" The announcer yelled and the crowd cheered with excitement, "These two trainers have battled their way to the top and now face each other in the final round. No matter what, they will each be leaving with a free prize of a Poketch, but who will be the first to own the latest model and be claimed victor?"

The crowd cheered again for the trainer they supported, which was shared equally between them.

"They're doing really well," Corey said to his companions, who were watching eagerly.

"Alright trainers, take your places," the announcer said to them and they did as asked, "Begin!"

Nina wasted no time, "Chimchar, use Flame Wheel!"

"Dodge it, Poochyena, then use Tackle!"

The dark grey canine swiftly dodged the oncoming attack. Surprised, the flames around Chimchar disappeared as Poochyena rammed into him and sent him skirting across the arena. Chimchar hit the ground and winced.

"You OK, Chimchar?" Nina asked, and as usual Chimchar nodded and jumped to his feet, "Alright, use Ember!"

Chimchar shot sparks of fire at Poochyena.

"Dodge, then use Tackle again!"

Poochyena dodged it then ran towards Chimchar.

"Dodge, then use Scratch!"

Chimchar managed to avoid Poochyena's attack by inches then swiped a hand across Poochyena's face. Poochyena yelped.

"Poochyena, use Bite!"

Chimchar swiped for another attack but it was caught it in Poochyena's mouth. Chimchar yelled as Poochyena sank his teeth into his hand. He tried to pry his hand free but Poochyena had a tight grip.

"Now toss Chimchar!"

Poochyena lifted its head quickly, dragging Chimchar with it, and threw him across the arena again. Chimchar yelled as he hit the ground. Poochyena dug its paws into the ground and disappeared into the hole it had just created.

_'Now that Poochyena is underground I can't predict where it will_ _appear,'_ Nina thought to herself. She looked up and saw Chimchar struggle to his feet.

Darryl grinned, "Now, Poochyena!"

The moment Chimchar was back on his feet, Poochyena shot up from underneath him. Chimchar soared through the air and landed with a thud on the ground near Nina.

"Oh no, Chimchar!"

Chimchar groaned and trembled as he tried to stand.

"Poochyena, finish off with Take Down!"

Poochyena rushed at the weakened Chimchar, who didn't have enough time to get up and was knocked back, landing at Nina's feet.

"Chimchar!" she cried in concern.

"Chimchar is unable to battle; the victory goes to Darryl and Poochyena!" the announcer exclaimed with excitement and the crowd burst into cheers.

Nina felt a little sad at their loss. She knew the battle would be tough, but she really thought she and Chimchar were going to win. Darryl and Poochyena were just too strong. Then again, considering she was still a new trainer and had made it to the finals, that was something to be proud of at least.

She knelt down to Chimchar and carefully picked him up with a smile, "You did great, Chimchar, I'm really proud of you,"

"Char," he said and gave a weak smile.

"Hey, Nina."

Nina and Chimchar both looked up to see Darryl and Poochyena standing in front of them.

"That was a good battle. You and Chimchar have done really well today," he said.

Nina smiled, "Thank you, Darryl, you battled really well too. When I saw how you battled I knew we were in trouble."

"Thanks. We've been training for a few years, so we've had plenty of practice."

They both headed over to Nurse Joy, and once their Pokemon were healed they stood beside the President of the Poketch Company, who was standing next to a table with a box for their Poketch's.

"Congratulations to the two of you. I would like to award you both with these Poketch's for your hard work," he said and picked up a reddish-purple analogue watch and handed it to Nina, "With this Poketch you will not only be able to tell the time, but the temperature the weather, and if you press this button here," he pointed to the only switch, "It will light the face so you can check the time when it is dark. And don't worry about taking it off when in water as it is completely waterproof."

Nina smiled as he handed it to her, "Wow, thank you so much sir!"

Although her watch wasn't as impressive as Darryl's new digital watch which had a calendar, a stopwatch, an alarm and calculator, she was extremely chuffed with hers. Not only did she earn a free watch today, but she and Chimchar had really progressed in their training. She was so proud of him.

"I watched the whole show on the television," said Fey, with a proud smile on her face, "That was some impressive battling skills. I guess you watching all those tournaments on the television paid off."

Nina smiled, "Yeah, but it was all really thanks to what we learned at the trainer's school and a lady we met on Wednesday night. She taught us a lot about battling and helped boost Chimchar's confidence."

Chimchar was sitting on her shoulder drinking from a small carton of berry juice, smiling brightly. He felt that he could have done better in the final round but he was proud of himself for getting so far.

"Unfortunately, we didn't manage to catch her name," Nina continued.

"Oh well, I'm sure you will see her again," Fey said then looked at the time. It was already five o'clock, "So, where are you planning to go next?"

Nina looked at Corey, who shrugged, "It's up to you," he said.

Nina scratched her chin as she thought, "Well, I was going to head to Canalave City to start my gym battles, but Nurse Joy told us that the passenger ferry to get there was under repair after it was attacked by some wild Gyarados. So, I guess we'll head to Oreburgh City next, but I'm a little tired from the competition so I think we'll stay here one more night then head out in the morning."

Fey nodded, "That sounds like a good plan. Now go get some rest and remember to give me a call occasionally so I know how you're doing."

Nina laughed and nodded, "Yeah, I'll remember this time."

They all bid goodbye to Fey then headed for dinner. Afterwards, they returned to the Pokemon Centre for some rest. They sat in their room and Chimchar was already fast asleep on Nina's pillow while she looked through the photos Corey took of the competition.

"I'm so proud of him. He did so well today," Nina said and tucked Chimchar into bed, careful not to disturb him.

Corey smiled from his bed opposite her, Eevee nestled at his side, "Yeah, and he didn't get scared either. He really went for it."

Nina put the camera down and picked up the Soothe Bell which she had kept safely in her pocket and was now settled on the pillow next to Chimchar. She picked up her bag and placed the Soothe Bell in next to the berry tub, positive she wasn't going to need it, at least for a while. She stopped in her tracks and pulled the tub of berries out. Or rather, lack of.

"What happened to all the berries!" she exclaimed, and then suddenly remembered Chimchar sleeping. She looked at him but he didn't seem to have noticed. Nina turned to Linoone.

"Linoone!" she whispered sternly.

Linoone shrugged innocently and scratched his head.

Corey smiled apologetically, "Sorry, Nina, it's my fault. When he came and found me before the competition started, he was poking at your bag, so I gave him the berries. Eevee had some too, so it's not all Linoone's fault."

Nina sighed, "What am I going to do with you," she placed the items back in her bag then opened the front compartment and pulled out a book.

"Are you going to read over your notes _again_?" Corey asked. She'd read through them about five times already.

Nina was confused at first, then realized what he was talking about, "Oh, no, this isn't my notebook; it's my journal."

Corey raised a brow, "Your journal?"

She nodded, "Yeah, every night I'm going to write in what's happened in the day. I guess you can say that it's my personal thoughts about what's happening on my journey, seeing as photos can't really tell you that. I guess I forgot the last few nights because of all our training."

Corey smiled, "You must have been planning this for a long time."

She nodded, "Ever since I met Linoone I've been preparing. I've been studying how to take proper care of my Pokemon and Linoone has helped me. If I didn't have Linoone I would really be struggling on what to do. And if _you_ weren't here, I would probably still be in that ditch."

Corey chuckled, "I guess everything happens for a reason."

"Yeah, I think so too," Nina wrote in her journal about the events of the last few days, and after about ten minutes a thought occurred to her, "Hey, Corey, when is your birthday?"

Corey, who had just tucked into bed and was lying facing the ceiling, glanced at her, "March ninth. Why?"

"Just so I can take note so I don't forget," she smiled and wrote the date on the back of the front cover so that she would see it every time she opened it. She looked at her new Poketch. It was already nine o'clock, "I guess we better get some sleep then."

Corey nodded and was about to get up to turn the light off, but Nina stopped him.

"It's alright, I'll get it," she said and walked over to the light. She flipped the switch, turning the lights off, then pressed the button on her watch and the face lit up a bright white, "Wow, this could come in real handy if I ever get lost in the dark," she said, taking note of how bright it was.

Nina carefully tucked into her bed to avoid waking the sleeping Chimchar. Linoone carefully snuggled next to Nina's free side and she placed her arms around her Pokemon.

"Good night, Corey," she said and switched her watch light off.

"Good night."

They were going to need plenty of rest to head out for Oreburgh City in the morning.


	9. Chapter 9

**Saturday – March 27th**

After a good night's rest, the group awoke early the next morning. They packed up their belongings, thanked Nurse Joy for allowing them to stay, then headed to their favourite restaurant, Sun-Flora's, for a breakfast treat.

"Wow, even the breakfast menu is amazing!" Nina said in excitement as she scanned through the menu, "They even make Pikachu pancakes!"

"They do?!" Corey exclaimed and both his and Eevee's eyes frantically searched the menu.

Nina's eyes widened in surprise at his sudden enthusiasm, "You like them too?!"

"Are you kidding?!" Corey exclaimed, "They are the most delicious pancakes in the world! My favourite is with chocolate sauce, and Eevee likes the Pecha berry flavour."

If Nina's delighted eyes widened any further they were going to pop out of her head, "That's so cool! I love them all, but my favourite is with syrup, and Linoone likes the Oran berry flavour, of course," She looked over to her chimp companion who was looking between his friends confused, "You have got to try them, Chimchar!"

"Yeah, you can try the Leppa berry flavour since you like spicy food," said Corey.

Once they had decided what they wanted they ordered their breakfast. As usual, it didn't take long for it to arrive, especially since there were only a few customers there this early in the morning. They all went with their favoured options, and Chimchar, trying the Leppa Berry flavour for the first time, now understood why they loved them so much. Nina and Linoone were both so delighted with the taste that they ordered a second round.

Once all their faces were stuffed, they decided it was time to head on to Oreburgh City and to get there they had to pass through the Oreburgh Gate located at the end of Route 203. They were walking down the long path on Route 203, Linoone taking his usual spot on Nina's shoulder, while Chimchar had returned to his Pokeball for the first time. They heard a grumbling.

"Oh boy, I probably shouldn't have eaten so much," Nina said while holding her stomach and feeling a little queasy. Linoone was now slouched over her shoulder like a rag doll, also feeling ill.

"Li," the badger Pokemon agreed.

"Yeah, I admit they were delicious, but I couldn't eat any more," said Corey, as he looked around for any wild Pokemon, "Maybe from now on we should eat a healthier breakfast."

"That's what my Mum says," she moaned, wishing she had listened to her mother's wisdom.

"Starly! Starly!"

The sudden cries made them all look up to see what looked like a dark grey haze moving across the sky.

"Oh, it's a flock of Starly," Nina smiled as she watched the bird Pokemon fly by.

"Hmm, something doesn't seem right," Corey said thoughtfully.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, usually when bird Pokemon fly as a group they fly in close range of each other; they're not usually scattered like this unless they're distressed. Something must have happened over there," Corey pointed further down the path where they could see more Starly flying from.

"Let's go check it out," Nina said and they ran down the path.

They ran to the top of a hill and saw a house with a large wooden shed next to it. There were different kinds of bird Pokemon; some were flying away and others seemed to be attacking something behind the house. More Starly were flying away over the forest when a burst of flames shot towards the sky and struck one of them.

"Starly!" it cried out.

"Oh no, that Starly got hit!" Nina cried and watched in horror as it fell into the trees in the distance.

There was a loud bang behind the house and a cloud of smoke erupted around the area. Nina and Corey ran over to the house and found a number of Starly, Staravia and Murkrow lying on the ground. Corey ran over to an injured Murkrow and knelt beside it when something knocked him away from the bird.

"Corey!" Nina yelled and ran over to him, "Are you OK?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said and rubbed left his arm.

They both looked up at the perpetrator. It was a large navy-blue bird with red under its wings, a white chest and a blue crest similar in shape to a hat. It was flying directly above the Murkrow protectively and its eyes were watching the two humans carefully, daring them to move.

"What is that?" Nina said in alarm.

"I don't know, but it's really angry," he whispered to her then held his hands up to the Pokemon, "Hey, calm down, we're not here to cause trouble."

But the bird Pokemon wouldn't listen and its wings lit up in silvery steel and charged at them.

"Honchkrow, stop!"

The bird halted inches from Nina and Corey. The silvery coating on its wings disappeared and it landed on the ground and turned as a teenage girl came running over. Nina and Corey sighed in relief.

"Are you two alright?" The girl asked. She had long dark brown hair with a long fringe hanging above her right eye. She wore a short green tank top with long detachable sleeves and matching shorts. Her boots were brown, and she wore a black belt with pouches for carrying potions.

"Yeah, we're fine, thanks," said Corey and stood up, brushing some dirt off his trousers.

"I'm really sorry about Honchkrow attacking you like that. He must have thought you were a danger."

"What happened here? We were just coming along the road when we saw some Pokemon fleeing the area."

The girl sighed and looked at all the injured bird Pokemon, "I'll explain later, but right now these Pokemon need my help."

With the help of Nina and Corey, the girl, Kathy, carried the injured Pokemon inside the shed to care for their wounds. Thankfully the damage wasn't too serious but a few of them would have to stay inside for a while.

"There that should do it," Kathy said and wrapped a bandage around a Staravia's wing.

"Staravia!" it said gratefully.

"Will it be alright?" Nina asked in concern.

"She'll be fine. She won't be able to fly for a few days but as soon as she's healed she'll be as good as new," Kathy smiled and stroked the birds curled crest. She carried Staravia over to one of the numerous perches and set her on it, "Alright, you take it easy, Staravia, and I'll come around to check on you in a while."

"Staravia!"

She walked over to one of the tables where Corey was taking care of a Murkrow, and Nina was stroking its head in comfort. He sprayed the wound on its leg with a potion then wrapped it up with a bandage professionally.

"You're really good at this," Kathy observed.

"Thanks. My brother taught me how to treat wounds. He said it's a skill every trainer should learn before they start their journey," he smiled and tied the bandage firmly enough so that it was secured but would not cut circulation, "All better."

"Mur-Murkrow!" Murkrow thanked him.

"Thank you both for helping me take care of these Pokemon," she said and carried Murkrow over to a perch.

"We're glad we could help, but can you tell us what happened?" Corey asked.

Kathy frowned, "Well, I was just finished making some poffins for the Pokemon when I heard a commotion, so I went outside and there were two trainers attacking the Pokemon and trying to take them."

Nina gasped, "That's horrible!"

Kathy nodded, "You see, this is a sanctuary for wild bird Pokemon, and at this time of year there are all kinds that visit here. I don't know who those trainers were, but they kept babbling on about how useful they would be to them and tried to take them. That's why a lot of the Pokemon fled and these ones were injured. If they were just ordinary trainers trying to capture a Pokemon I may have allowed them to battle fairly, but they were attacking _all_ of the Pokemon very violently and trying to take them."

"Did they manage to get away with any?" Corey asked.

"Thankfully, no. Honchkrow managed to drive them away, but they could still be out there, so I have to be careful until my father gets back. He went out into the forest to gather some berries, but he should be back soon."

Nina gasped suddenly, "Oh no!"

Kathy and Corey looked at her in alarm, "What is it?"

"Remember when we saw the Starly flying away? One of them got hit by a flame and fell into the forest!"

"Oh no, it could be seriously injured!" Said Kathy.

"Or worse, those trainers might have it," said Corey.

"We have to do something!"

Kathy frowned, "I would go, but I can't leave these Pokemon unattended; there are still some that need attending."

Corey looked from the Pokemon then to Nina, "Nina, do you think you can go look for the Starly? I want to stay here and help take care of these Pokemon."

Nina nodded, "Sure, no problem. I'll be back as soon as I can."


	10. Chapter 10

Nina and Linoone searched the forest for the injured Starly. Nina had a brief idea as to where the Starly had fallen and was relieved to find a path heading in roughly the same direction. The forest Pokemon didn't seem bothered by her presence in their home and just watched her as she passed. She wasn't complaining, she didn't want to get attacked by wild Pokemon while another needed her help.

Linoone, who was standing on Nina's shoulder and leaning on her head to look in all directions, suddenly perked his ears and turned his head to the left. He jumped down from Nina's shoulder.

"What is it, Linoone?" She asked and followed his gaze.

Linoone stood up straight and listened carefully. With his keen hearing, he was able to hear what was going on around him. A faint noise in the distance caught his ears. He turned to Nina urgently and pointed through the trees to their left.

Nina nodded, "Alright, lead the way."

Nina followed her Pokemon down the path. Linoone could hear the cries grow louder and ran on ahead. When he got to the top of a ledge he stopped in his tracks. He managed to find the injured Starly but that wasn't all.

Nina managed to catch up to him but before she got too close to the edge Linoone gestured for her to crouch and stay quiet. She did as her Pokemon requested and crawled over to him to see what was happening on the lower ground.

"Starly! Starly!"

"Stop squirming!" A woman with short purple hair and a long fringe covering her right eye growled in frustration.

Surrounding the Starly were two trainers; a male and a female. They looked to be in their twenties and wore black and yellow uniforms with a symbol shaped like the letter U and an oval in the centre. They were accompanied by two Pokemon.

One of them was a small black canine with a red muzzle and underbelly. It had white bands on each of its ankles and two in the shape of ribs on its back. The other was bipedal and had dark blue-green skin. A red feather was sprouting from its left ear and three on its rear almost like tails. It had large claws on its front and back paws and a yellow oval marking on its head and chest.

Nina pulled her Pokedex out of her pocket to scan the Pokemon. She wanted to know what she was up against before she made a move. She pointed it at the black canine first.

"Houndour, the dark Pokemon. It conveys its feelings using different cries. It works in a pack to cleverly take down prey."

The Pokedex said. Luckily for Nina, the trainers had not yet discovered her presence due to Starly causing a commotion. She quickly turned towards the other Pokemon to scan it.

"Sneasel, the sharp claw Pokemon. It is extremely vicious and will not stop attacking until its foe is incapable of moving,"

'_They must be the trainers Kathy was talking about,'_ Nina thought and watched the group carefully. They looked tough and she was outnumbered. To interfere would be reckless and probably do more damage than good, but she couldn't just leave Starly at their mercy. She was torn. She wanted to help Starly, but she didn't think she could take them both on, and didn't want her Pokemon to get hurt, or worse; stolen.

"Starly!"

Nina and Linoone watched in horror as Starly continued to struggle against the trainer's grasp. Feathers were flying around as Starly flapped its wings frantically trying to escape. Nina gasped loudly when she caught sight of blood on Starly's wings where feathers had been burned.

Sneasel turned its head sharply in her direction. Nina flinched as its eyes set on hers. Before she could do anything, Sneasel jumped up onto the ledge behind them and shoved them over the edge. Nina cried out in surprise and groaned as she crashed to the ground.

"Well, well, Dara. It looks like we have some company," the male said, turning his head in their direction. He had short and messy cyan coloured hair and a menacing grin on his face, intensified by his icy eyes.

The woman with the purple hair also turned in their direction, "Well, take care of them Isaac! I'm a little busy at the moment!" she roared as Starly still fought against her.

"Just what are you going to do with Starly?" Nina stood and rubbed her head.

"What's it to you?" the woman, Dara, shouted back, "This Starly is a wild Pokemon. It's none of your business what we do with it."

"But, you're hurting it!"

"So what? The stupid bird should listen to me!"

Starly cried as Dara pulled on its injured wing.

Nina growled angrily, "Alright, that's it, I can't stand by while you hurt that poor Starly. Linoone, use Quick Attack!"

Linoone charged past the male and the Pokemon and rammed himself into the woman. The impact from the badger Pokemon caused her to loosen her grip on Starly and dropped the bird. Starly choked and lay still, too exhausted to move.

"You little brat! How dare you!" Dara roared, her dark green eyes burned with fury, causing Nina to flinch. She was positive she saw them catch fire, "You're going to pay for that! Houndour, Flamethrower!"

The black canine jumped in front of its trainer. It howled and inhaled deeply then shot a large blast of flames at Linoone.

"Dodge it, Linoone!"

The flames were slightly off target, making it easier for Linoone to dodge.

Isaac gave a slight chuckle, clearly amused by his partner's terrible aim.

"Shut up, Isaac!" Dara screamed childishly. It became clear to Nina that Dara was very hot headed.

"Linoone, use Head Butt!"

Linoone charged at Houndour and rammed head first into the canine. Houndour yelped and fell down.

"Houndour, get up and use Bite!"

Houndour jumped up and ran at Linoone. Linoone dodged it again then countered with another Headbutt, knocking Houndour down again.

"Now, use Quick Attack!"

Linoone charged at Houndour again but as he was about to make a leap he was thrown off course and crashed into a nearby tree.

"Linoone!" Nina cried and ran over to him. Linoone was shaking and struggling to move. The impact had really hurt him. She looked up at the perpetrator.

Sneasel stood a few feet in front of them tauntingly. Isaac was standing with his arms folded and watching them with amusement.

"Attacking a Pokemon while it's down? Not something I would expect from a little girl," he said.

"Two against one isn't exactly fair either," Nina retorted.

"For us, rules don't apply," he said and he ordered Sneasel to attack.

Nina crouched over Linoone protectively. She shut her eyes tightly in hopes it would lessen the pain she was about to feel.

"Sneasel!" the bipedal Pokemon cried and there was a loud crash.

Nina opened her eyes are turned around. Sneasel was lying unconscious at Isaac's feet. Hovering in front of Nina was a large grey bird. She looked up at the Pokemon in awe then at Dara and Isaac. Dara showed expression of fury but Isaac merely smirked and returned his Pokemon to its pokeball. Nina looked passed them and saw that Starly was still lying where Dara had dropped it. She grew concerned as it hadn't moved an inch since it fell.

"Your Pokemon are defeated, now leave this trainer and these Pokemon alone!" Nina turned her attention to a man standing on the ledge where she and Linoone had previously observed the scene.

The two trainers seemed to realise they were outmatched. Isaac merely shrugged, "Looks like it's time to leave, Dara."

"Fine," She growled and turned her attention to Nina, "You got lucky this time kid, but next time I'll show you what happens when you mess with Team Umbra!"

Isaac lifted something out of his pocket and threw it to the ground. The object exploded into a cloud of smoke and surrounded the two assailants. The man commanded his Pokemon to clear the smoke using its wings and when it cleared, they were gone.

"Team Umbra?" Corey asked after Nina had explained the story to him and Kathy.

Nina nodded, "That's what she said,"

She watched as Corey cared for Linoone. She felt guilty. She knew Linoone didn't like fighting and because of her, he got hurt.

Linoone noticed her expression and gave her a reassuring smile.

"They sound like a group of crooks if you ask me," Said Kathy.

After Team Umbra left Nina and her rescuer, who turned out to be Kathy's father, picked up Linoone and Starly and carried them back to the sanctuary. Starly had fallen unconscious on the way back which only caused Nina more concern, but Kathy assured her that Starly would be alright and that it was probably better that the bird was unconscious while she took care of its wounds.

The door to the sanctuary opened and a man in his late thirties with short dark green hair walked in carrying a tray with a mixture of coloured buns.

"Here are some poffins for the Pokemon," he said and placed the tray on the table.

"Thanks, Dad," Kathy said and started wrapping Starly's wing in a bandage.

Corey finished tying the bandage on Linoone's front left leg, "There you go, Linoone. Try not to move it too much until it's stopped hurting."

Linoone nodded his thanks to the boy and sat up.

"Linoone, I'm really sorry you got hurt, it's my fault," she frowned and looked at the ground in shame.

Linoone placed his other paw on her arm, "Li."

"It wasn't your fault, Nina," Corey said and handed a blue poffin, Oran Berry flavour, to Linoone, "Team Umbra are the ones that hurt Linoone, not you."

Nina looked into her Pokemon's eyes and he gave a nod in agreement at the words. Nina smiled sadly.

"I guess you're right," She said but still couldn't help feeling she was responsible. She had ordered Linoone to attack after all. If Kathy's dad hadn't turned up when he did then things would have been worse.

"Oh, that reminds me," she said and turned to the man, "I forgot to thank you for helping us Mister…?"

"Please, call me Anthony. And no thanks are necessary," he waved it off and handed some poffins out to the Pokemon sitting on the perches, "I should thank you and Corey for helping Kathy while I was gone. I didn't intend to take as long as I did but we needed some more Pecha Berries and they were deeper into the forest."

"How exactly did you know where I was?"

"I arrived back here first and when Kathy quickly explained things to me, I went out to find you. I probably wouldn't have found you on time if I hadn't had Staraptor with me," he walked over to where the large bird was perched and stroked its feathers and gave it a red poffin.

"Staraptor? That reminds me," she pulled out her Pokedex.

"Staraptor, the Predator Pokemon, and the evolved form of Staravia. The muscles in its wings and legs are strong. It can easily fly while gripping a small Pokemon."

"The evolve of Staravia, huh?" she said and scanned the Staravia from earlier.

"Staravia, the Starling Pokemon, and the evolved form of Starly. It flies around forests and fields in search of bug Pokemon. It stays within a huge flock."

"I've seen plenty of Starly and Staravia in Sandgem Town but only ever seen one Staraptor at Professor Rowan's lab," she said.

"Starly and Staravia tend to stay within their flock, but when they evolve into Staraptor they go their own way, although they stay with their young for a while before they leave them with the flock. They can be quite aggressive in the wild and really tough to train so it's best to train them from one of their pre-evolutions."

Nina nodded and looked at the still unconscious Starly that Kathy was caring for, "So when this Starly is healed will it return to its flock?"

"This Starly and all the others here are actually the children of my Dad's Staraptor. Once they are all old enough to leave she will find them a flock."

Nina sighed in relief, "Well, I guess that's not so bad."

"There we go," Kathy said as she finished with Starly's bandage, "I've tied it securely so she won't be able to move it too much and do more damage. We should take her inside the house tonight so we can keep a closer eye on her."

Anthony nodded and picked up a small basket. He placed a cushion in and lifted it onto the table. Kathy carefully lifted Starly and placed her on the basket and covered her with a blanket.

"I'll take her inside the house and find her a place to rest quietly," Anthony said and walked out of the sanctuary carrying the basket.

Kathy breathed a sigh of relief and wiped her forehead, "Looks like all of these Pokemon are going to be fine. Come inside the house and get something to drink," she said and they left the shed and headed next door into the small house.


	11. Chapter 11

Kathy and Anthony invited the two young travellers into their home for some dinner. As Starly slept, Kathy told the story of how she met Honchkrow.

She grew up in Alamos Town, located to the north through the forest and across a large lake. She had spent her entire life around bird Pokemon as her family had raised and trained them for generations, but her fondness for them grew when she met a bold little Murkrow when she was nine.

"I was out playing with my friends and I saw some of the local Pokemon huddled together in a corner," said Kathy, "I was about to call my friends over to see what was going on but they had already run off, so I went myself. There were about ten of them, which I thought was a lot; usually, there were only four or five at most in a group that I had ever seen so I knew something was going on. At first, I couldn't see passed them but when I did I saw a little Murkrow. He was acting very aggressively to the other Pokemon and I wasn't sure if they had provoked him or if they were trying to help, but they seemed agitated too. Whenever any of them tried to get close Murkrow would attack. That's when I noticed his wing bent at a strange angle, so I knew it was broken. I knew I had to help before he hurt himself further. I spoke to him, telling him I was going to help, but when I got close, he attacked me, and I screamed. The other Pokemon jumped into a fight and I begged them to stop but they wouldn't listen. That's when Dad arrived."

The man sitting next to Nina, holding a cup of coffee, nodded, "I was out training with Staraptor at the time when I heard Kathy's scream. Myself and a few other townsfolk ran to her and saw the Pokemon fighting over her. We managed to break them up and luckily Kathy wasn't hurt but no matter how much we tried, Murkrow wouldn't stop, so I ordered Staraptor to attack. Murkrow was far too distressed and a danger to others and himself, I had no choice but to knock him out."

Nina frowned. She wasn't very fond of the idea of knocking an injured and distressed Pokemon unconscious, but she understood why, "Then what happened?"

"Well," said Kathy, "I felt bad for not being able to help, so Dad and I took Murkrow to the Pokemon Center. We stayed there for hours, and the next morning I went straight back. It didn't matter to me that Murkrow attacked me, I just wanted to make sure he was safe."

"I was the same when I found Linoone injured as a Zigzagoon," Nina smiled, "I didn't want to leave his side until I knew for certain that he was alright, even though everyone told me he was."

Kathy nodded with a smile, "Murkrow was kept sedated for a few days until he was healed so he couldn't hurt himself or anyone else. The first few times I went to see him he didn't seem bothered by my presence but when he started to become more aware of what was going on, he became aggressive again. Nurse Joy told me to just leave him be, because once he was fully healed, he would be released back into the wild. But that still didn't stop me and I helped look after him. Murkrow eventually got used to me, even when he was fully aware of his surroundings, and when the time came to release him Nurse Joy noticed how calm he was around me and allowed me to do it. When I watched him fly away I felt really sad at seeing him go but was happy that he was able to fly again. A few nights later I couldn't sleep because I couldn't stop thinking about him and if he was alright. I lay for hours trying to sleep. I even tried counting Flaffy, but it didn't work. I was about to get up and get a drink when I heard a tapping on my bedroom window, and when I turned around, I saw Murkrow."

"He came back to you," Nina smiled.

Kathy nodded, "After then, Murkrow became my closest friend and we went everywhere together. Thanks to Murkrow, my fondness for bird Pokemon grew and I started helping my Mum and Dad at their bird sanctuary in town, but..."

"Sadly, my wife passed away a few years ago," Anthony said when he noticed his daughter's sad eyes, "After a while, we couldn't stay in Alamos anymore, but we didn't want to give up our dream. We saved up and built this house here. It took us a while to adjust, but we've managed."

"I'm sorry to hear about your wife and your Mum," Corey frowned.

"Thank you, Corey. We both miss her terribly, but things have worked out for us," Anthony replied with a sad smile.

"Say, you both should visit Alamos some time on your travels. The path you were on earlier, Nina, leads to the valley across from it," said Kathy.

Nina looked at Corey, "That sounds great, what do you say?"

"Sure, I'd love to."

"Hold on," Anthony said, "If you want to visit Alamos Town, then I suggest waiting for the Oracion Festival."

Nina and Corey exchanged looks, "The what?"

"The Oracion Festival," Kathy answered, "Haven't you heard of it?"

They shook their heads.

"It's a festival that's held every fifteen years since the Space-Time Tower was completed. It celebrates peace between people and Pokemon."

"What's the Space-Time Tower?" Nina asked.

"It's two tall towers that stand side-by-side, each representing Space and Time. It is also the largest musical instrument in the world. This year marks ninety years since it was built."

"The whole tower is a musical instrument?" Nina exclaimed excitedly, "That's amazing!"

Kathy nodded, "I was only a few months old when it last played so I don't remember anything about it, but from what I've heard, it's incredible. So really, this will be my first time seeing it too. If you want, we can all go together?"

"That would be great. When is it?" Nina picked up her bag and pulled out her journal so she could jot down the date.

"It's spread out over three days, starting on the tenth of June," said Anthony, "On the first day there is a contest held for Pokemon Coordinators. On the second day, a battle contest for Pokemon trainers. And on the third day, there are all kinds of games going on, like PokeRinger, Pokemon Orienteering and Pokemon Ping Pong. At night, there is a ball where everyone can get dressed up, and then at midnight the tower plays the song, Oracion, to close the festival."

Once Nina wrote everything down she smiled and placed her journal back in her bag, "Wow, you've gotten me really excited. I can't wait!"

A few hours later, Starly still hadn't woken up. Nina was eager to get to Oreburgh City and challenge the gym leader, but she didn't want to leave until she knew for sure that Starly was alright. She trusted that Kathy and Anthony would take care of it, but Nina couldn't bring herself to leave just yet, so Anthony offered them to stay for the night. Nina tried to politely decline, saying that she didn't want to intrude, but Kathy insisted.

"You and Corey have really helped me out today and I know you're concerned about Starly, so the least I can do is offer you a place to stay for the night," she had said, and Nina couldn't refuse any longer.

It was now late into the day and the sun was almost set, casting a warm orange glow across Sinnoh. Corey, Nina and Kathy were sitting at the outside table enjoying some dinner while Linoone, Chimchar and Eevee played with the bird Pokemon.

"You're Pokemon are getting along very well with the others," smiled Kathy as Chimchar and Eevee ran circles around some Murkrow.

"Eevee loves meeting new friends," said Corey, "She'll befriend just about everyone."

"Yeah, Linoone and Chimchar like meeting new Pokemon too. They're just not quite as hyper-active as Eevee," Nina said.

"I don't think anyone is," Corey laughed.

"I noticed your Chimchar seems to get nervous whenever he goes near Honchkrow," said Kathy, watching the chimp-Pokemon keep distance from her bird companion, who was perched on a nearby tree cleaning his feathers.

"He gets nervous around bigger Pokemon; especially during a battle. We're working on boosting his confidence, but we have a long way to go yet," said Nina.

Kathy nodded in understanding, "Honchkrow is big and strong, but he's not as scary as he seems once you get know each him. He's just protective of the other Pokemon he considers his flock. He comes across as a loner because he sits by himself, but if any of his flock need him, he's right there."

"That reminds me," Nina said, pulling out her pokedex and scanning the large bird.

"Honchkrow, the Big Boss Pokemon, and the evolved form of Murkrow. It recruits many Murkrow to travel with it, and spends much of its time at home preening its feathers."

The backdoor opened and Anthony appeared with a smile, "Hey, thought I'd let you all know; Starly has woken up."

Everyone headed inside and into the living room where Starly was resting. They kept a safe distance away so as not to overcrowd it. Kathy went over to the small bird Pokemon who was watching them all carefully. Kathy wagered that the Pokemon had little trust in humans after the way Team Umbra treated it, so she had to be careful, even if it knew her. As Kathy knelt, the bird flinched.

"Hey, it's alright," she said soothingly, "I'm not going to hurt you," she gingerly lifted a hand to Starly's head, "There, see it's alright."

"Starly," The bird cooed tiredly as the girl stroked its crest. The bird then tried to stand.

"Starly!" she cried as she bumped her injured wing against the basket.

"Careful, Starly," Kathy said and held the Pokemon carefully, "Try not to move so much. Your wing got hurt pretty bad when those thieves tried to take you, so you need to take it easy."

Starly looked passed Kathy to the others gathered in the room. Her eyes settled on the young brunette. Kathy noticed and smiled, "You remember her, don't you?"

"Starly," the Pokemon nodded, recognizing Nina as the trainer who tried to help.

Kathy stood and gestured for Nina to come over. Nina knelt down next to Starly just as Kathy had done and smiled, "Hi there, Starly. I'm so glad you're awake; I was really worried."

Nina looked at Kathy who gave her a nod of reassurance. She lifted her hand and started stroking her head. Starly seemed to like it as she started cooing softly, not unlike a cat's purr.

"Looks to me like Starly really likes you," Kathy said, "If you want, you can stay here and keep her company for a bit while we sort the supper."

"Thanks, Kathy, but I feel that I should help out."

Kathy smiled, "You're too nice Nina, but don't worry, we can take care of her. You're our guests after all."

While Nina and Corey kept Starly company, Anthony prepared food for the four humans, while Kathy prepared some Pokemon food.

"Here you go, Linoone," Kathy said and placed a dish with Pokemon food, sprinkled with Oran berry powder, on the floor next to him.

"Linoone!" He said gratefully.

She placed a dish in front of Starly, who was now on her feet and standing next to Linoone. Linoone tried to make conversation with her but every time she turned away and ignored him.

"Starly! Starly!" she chirped happily as she ate.

Nina smiled, "I'm happy to see her moving about."

"Me too. If she rests plenty for a few days she will be as good as new in no time" Kathy said, and finished helping Anthony lay out the supper.

"Here's some food for Chimchar and Eevee," Kathy said and placed the dish on the floor next to the other Pokemon.

Corey left to fetch the two Pokemon who had gone back outside to play. When their eyes set on Starly they ran over enthusiastically.

"Char! Char!" the chimp greeted, but the bird turned her head away, just like she did with Linoone. Chimchar looked at Linoone confused while Eevee simply took the gesture as her not hearing him and bounced around to face her again but she turned away.

"Looks like Starly doesn't like our Pokemon very much," Corey said, observing them.

Kathy smiled and finished setting everything on the table, "Some Pokemon are wary of strangers when they first meet, whether it's a person or another Pokemon. But I'm sure after a while she'll get used to them."

Nina looked at the bird keeper as she sat at the table, "How do you know Starly is female?"

"By her markings of course,"

"What markings?"

"See that white patch on her crest? It's small, so that means this Starly is female. Some Pokemon have noticeable gender differences; such as the mane on a Luxray is larger on males than on females. But some Pokemon, such as Linoone, don't have any and it's harder to tell if they are male or female."

"Oh, so the white patch on a male Starly is larger?"

Kathy nodded, "That's right."

Nina smiled, "Wow, you know so much! I should take a few lessons from you."

Kathy chuckled, "I'm flattered Nina, but I don't know all that much about Pokemon gender differences. You would have to speak to a professor about that kind of thing."

"Hey, Nina, if you look through your pokedex there's a section that tells you about gender differences," said Corey."

Nina reached for the Pokedex in her pocket but stopped, "You know what, maybe I'll leave it until after dinner."


	12. Chapter 12

**Sunday - March 28th**

Nina awoke early the next morning. She was the first in the house to be awake and made sure to get herself ready quietly. She tiptoed out of the living room, where she and Corey slept on the two couches, and upstairs into the bathroom. She brushed her teeth, got dressed and sorted her hair into a ponytail then made her way back downstairs, only to find Linoone, who had slept next to Corey and Eevee, sprawled across Corey's face. She suddenly burst into laughter.

Corey bolted upright, throwing Linoone across the room, only causing Nina to laugh louder. She was laughing so hard she fell to the floor clutching her side. Anthony came running down the stairs to see what the commotion was and found Corey apologizing to Linoone, Nina in tears on the floor and Chimchar and Eevee watching with sleepy confusion.

"What's going on down here?" Anthony yawned and rubbed his tired eyes.

"I have no idea! I was fast asleep and Nina woke me up and started laughing," Corey said.

Nina gasped in deep breaths and tried to pull herself up but her body was too weak from laughing so much.

"What's all the commotion?" Kathy appeared on the stairs.

Anthony shrugged, "You have interesting new friends," he said and went back upstairs.

After about twenty minutes everyone was dressed. Nina, Corey and Kathy were sitting at the kitchen table while Anthony cooked their breakfast. Nina was still giggling to herself.

"What was so funny?" Corey asked, "Was I talking in my sleep?"

Nina giggled and shook her head, "No. Linoone was lying on your face and I thought it was really funny."

Kathy's brow rose, "That's it? That's the dramatic cause for our early alarm?"

Nina shrugged, "I guess you had to see it to realize how funny it was."

Linoone smacked a hand to his face in embarrassment and Eevee squeaked in amusement. Chimchar stared at Nina as if she had a Shellos stuck to the back of her head.

After breakfast, they all headed out into the garden to feed the Pokemon. Nina had Starly perched on her arm and was taking her for a little walk around the garden.

"Are you feeling better today Starly?" she asked.

"Starly!" she chirped happily. Linoone, who was walking on the ground next to them, called Starly, but as usual, she turned her head away.

"You don't like other Pokemon much do you?" Starly shook her head, "Linoone is really nice though,"

Starly looked down at the white badger for a moment then turned her head away again.

"Don't take it personally Linoone," Nina said. He shrugged it off and went over to join Chimchar and Eevee who were playing with their Murkrow friends.

"That Starly is quite unique," Anthony said.

"She is?"

"Starly are usually quite friendly and sociable Pokemon, and even though this one has been born and raised among her flock, she seems to prefer the company of people over Pokemon," he said thoughtfully.

"Is that bad?" she asked.

"Not particularly. It will just take longer for her to get used to other Pokemon. She trusts Kathy and I because we've helped raise and care for her, just as her mother has. And most of the birds here are considered her flock, so she's used to them, though she doesn't interact with them much. She's taken to you because you tried to help her, but I find it odd that she doesn't like your Pokemon. Especially since Linoone also tried to help her. I suppose we can never truly know what a Pokemon is thinking."

Nina smiled at her companion, "Well, whatever the case, you don't have to worry Starly, Linoone and Chimchar are really friendly,"

Starly watched the Pokemon in question playing with the others for a moment but shook her head and turned away again.

"Try not to force her into liking them. Once she gets used to them, she will open up."

Nina looked between Anthony and Starly, "You mean take her with me?"

Anthony nodded, "Sure, why not? You both seem to have formed an attachment to each other and raising a bird Pokemon can be quite useful on your travels."

Nina thought about it. A bird Pokemon would be very useful, especially if she ever got lost. And Anthony was right when he said they had formed an attachment. Maybe taking Starly with her on her journey wasn't such a bad idea.

"What do you say, Starly? Would you like to travel with us?"

"Starly!"

**Wednesday – March 31****st**

Noon came that day, and Nina and Corey began on their way towards Oreburgh City. The city was a three-day journey from Anthony and Kathy's house and Nina was eager to be on her way. Chimchar had returned to his pokeball and Linoone took his place on Nina's shoulder. Although Starly had agreed to go with Nina on her journey, Kathy had suggested that Starly stay at the sanctuary until she was healed, and after some convincing from Nina, the bird agreed and was staying with Kathy until Nina came back to collect her after her gym battle.

The first two days of their travels to Oreburgh City went by quickly. Nina trained a little with her Pokemon in the afternoons by practicing their aiming and dodge techniques, while Corey studied them and any other Pokemon they saw along the way. At night they pitched their tents, watched the stars for a bit then went to sleep. On the third day, they reached a cave.

"Please tell me we that's not the way to Oreburgh City," Nina shivered as she looked at the dark entrance.

Corey, who had his eyes on a map, looked up, "Yeah, that's the way. That's the Oreburgh Gate. It's the only way to get to the city from here."

Nina shivered, "Great."

"What's wrong?"

Nina shook her head, "I don't like caves. They're creepy."

"Don't worry, it will be lit along the way," Corey folded up the map and placed it back in his bag, "And we have this just in case," he pulled a silver torch out of his bag and handed it to her.

She took the torch from him, but she still didn't look reassured.

"If we stick together, we'll be back outside in no time."

Once at the cave entrance Corey was the first to step in. Nina hesitated for a moment but took a deep breath and followed after him. She shivered when the cold shadows shrouded her. The cave was freezing compared to the warmth of the sun outside. Lights were positioned along the walls, but they provided no warmth and, for Nina, not enough light.

She pressed the switch on the torch, shakily pointing it forward. She took a deep breath, "OK, let's go."

They walked at a steady pace, with Linoone and Eevee at the front and Corey sticking close to Nina's side. At first, they walked in silence but the eerie silence made Nina more nervous and the slightest noise deeper in the cave made her jump. To take her mind off it, Corey told a story about when he once explored a cave near Twinleaf Town looking for rare Pokemon.

"I found a small cave entrance near the lake just outside of town. I'd never seen it before and no one had ever talked about it. I could see light reflecting on the walls so I knew someone was there, so I crawled through the entrance and made my way through. When I got closer to the light source I saw a big shadow on the wall. At first, I thought it was a person but when I got closer it started to look oddly shaped, so I knew it was a Pokemon. It had to be a fire type because of the light it was creating. Then suddenly I heard this really loud growl."

"What did you do?" Nina asked, intrigued. Corey's plan was working, her full attention was on him.

"I ran away. I was so scared that I ran back to my house to get my brother. It was nothing like anything I'd ever seen or heard of before, and I knew the only person who'd believe me was Liam, so I took him to the cave and…well…."

"What?"

Corey scratched the back of his head, "Well it turns out it wasn't a rare Pokemon at all. It was just a bunch of Psyduck huddled together sleeping, and the light source was from the sun through some gaps in the wall."

"But what about the growling noises?"

"Yeah, well… that was just the Psyduck snoring," he blushed.

Nina giggled, "What did your brother say?"

"He told me it was still a good find and that if I keep exploring, one day I _would_ find a rare Pokemon."

Nina smiled and nodded, "You know, I think I might have seen a rare Pokemon once. I was stargazing with my Dad one night and I saw something move across the sky. It was dark so I couldn't see it very well, but I can remember it had a long body. I asked my Dad what it was but he said he'd never seen a Pokemon like it before and it was probably really rare."

"That's incredible!" Corey beamed, "I wonder how many rare Pokemon are in the world. I would love to see even just one of them."

"Me too!"

They walked on in silence for a while, both pondering the idea of seeing a rare Pokemon with their own eyes. Nina was so deep in thought that she didn't see the large stone at her feet and tripped over it face-first, her yelp breaking the silence.

"Are you okay?" asked Corey as he helped her up.

"Y-yeah," she groaned and pushed herself up, "Sorry guys," she said to their Pokemon companions who were squashed beneath her.

They were a little dazed by the unexpected impact, but a quick shake of their fur and a nod showed they were unharmed. Corey pulled her to her feet when he noticed the shimmering light of the torch a few feet in front of them, having flown out of Nina's hand on her fall. He picked it up and handed it back to her, then they suddenly froze.

A high-pitched screech echoed off the walls and their eyes darted to the source. Nina held the torch up with shaky hands and the light illuminated on the ceiling where a dozen Golbat and Zubat were hanging. Spooked by the sudden light they dropped from the ceiling and flew towards Nina. She screamed and covered her face with her arms as they flew around her.

"Get away!" Nina cried, trying to swat the bat Pokemon away with her hands "Linoone, use Headbutt!"

"Eevee, use Tackle!"

Both Pokemon leapt up at two of their opponents and sent them both crashing into the wall.

Seeing their comrades fall, the remaining Golbat and Zubat all turned their attention to Linoone and Eevee. They hovered together in a line, all facing the trained Pokemon. A deafening screech rebounded off the walls. Nina and Corey's hands flew up to their ears, trying to block out the noise. Linoone and Eevee were swaying back and forth dizzily.

"It's no use. We're outnumbered."

"What do we do?" Nina still shielded her arms with her face, being careful not to shine the light on the angry Pokemon as it only aggravated them further.

"We need to run. Come on!" Nina was jerked forward as Corey grabbed her hand and tried to get passed, but their assailants expected this and blocked their path. Nina screamed.

Linoone and Eevee snapped out of their confusion, and upon seeing their trainers surrounded, they jumped to defend them. The four of them swatted at their adversaries, trying to make their way passed them, but no matter how many they managed to swipe away, others took their place. They began attacking the lights on the walls.

Core's brown furrowed, '_What are they…?'_

But as a few of the wall-lamps crashed to the ground, he realised what they were doing.

"Oh no! They're trying to block out the light!" he cried.

A Zubat zoomed straight towards Nina and knocked the torch out of her hand. She tried to grab it but her path was blocked. It flashed on and off for a second before going out completely. The remaining lights around them were smashed by the enraged Pokemon and they were engulfed in darkness, save for the tiny dots of the lights further down the tunnel.

Nina covered her head with her hands and clenched her eyes shut. She could hear Linoone and Eevee trying to continue to fight and flickering sounds next to her told her Corey had managed to grab his torch and was trying to get it working again. She could hear the panic in his frustrated groans as he desperately slapped it against his hand, but the flickering stopped completely. It was no use. This was just like last time. So much noise, surrounded by the dark, with no way out. It was the dark that she feared the most, and she wished she had even the tiniest ember to comfort her.

Nina's eyes snapped open in sudden realisation, '_Ember_!'

She mentally slapped herself and grabbed Chimchar's pokeball from her belt. She opened it and the walls burst into a fiery orange glow. All eyes snapped to the source.

"Chimchar, use Ember!"

Understanding the urgency in her voice, Chimchar did not hesitate and fired tiny sparks at the assailants, scattering them. Seeing his chance, Corey pulled Nina to her feet and ran as fast as he could, their Pokemon close at their heels. He was faster than her and a few times she almost tripped trying to keep up with him. The Golbat and Zubat had regained their composure and continued their pursuit.

Eevee sped ahead of them looking for an exit while Chimchar and Linoone swatted any enemy that came close to their trainers. She rounded a corner and saw the dark cave walls illuminated by a dim white light. A huge smile broke onto her furry face and she turned back to the others.

"Ee!"

Upon hearing her joyful cry, Corey looked ahead at the cheerful bouncing Eevee. He felt a wave of relief wash over him, "Eevee's found the way out!"

A burst of energy shot through Nina as if she'd been struck by energising lightning. Her legs sprang forward with a speed she didn't know she had, dragging an alarmed Corey with her.

The Golbat and Zubat tried to block their path by attacking the walls in front of them, but they managed to get past them before any of the falling rocks hit them. The light casting on the walls was growing brighter and brighter, when they felt the warmth of the sun wrap around their shoulders in a loving embrace. It wasn't until they were about one hundred yards from the caves exit did Nina stop. Corey collapsed to the ground beside Eevee and Linoone, all heaving in deep breaths.

Nina dropped to her knees, her lungs were aching, "Are…they…gone?" her eyes rapidly darted around the area for any sign of the bats.

Corey nodded, also breathing heavily, "Yeah…I think so. Are you… alright?"

Nina continued to gasp deep breaths and nodded, "Y-yeah… what… about… you?"

Corey merely nodded and waved his hand. His eyes were shut to block out the sun's harsh rays as he focused to control his breathing. After a few minutes when he had it back under control, he sat up and looked at his Pokemon companions. Linoone lay flat on the ground, now breathing at a normal rate but allowing himself a moment's rest, Eevee was trying to brush flecks of dirt out of her fur, and Chimchar, while slightly out of breath, didn't seem too phased by recent events. When Chimchar's eyes met his own, Corey gave him a thumbs up and a huge grin broke out on the chimp's face.

He lifted his right hand to look at the torch clutched tightly in his palm. Turning it around he noticed the plastic casing around the battery pack had broken off and the batteries missing. They must have fallen out when he was trying to turn it on. He groaned. His brother Liam had given it to him as a gift on his seventh birthday when he started to show interest in exploring. He frowned, a little saddened that it was now broken. He sighed and carefully placed it in his bag to replace later.

"I'm sorry,"

Corey looked over at Nina in confusion, "Huh? Why?"

"For breaking your torch. I didn't mean to, but one of the Zubat knocked it out of my hand. And I'm sorry for not moving fast enough, I was just so scared. I don't like dark places."

Corey frowned as she looked at the ground in guilt. He stood up and walked over to her, holding out his hand. She stared at it for a moment before taking it and standing up.

"Hey, don't worry about it, it's just a torch, it can be replaced. And we all get scared sometimes. I was scared too. I thought we were never getting away. But thanks to these guys, we're OK."

He threw another smile at the Pokemon, which they returned gleefully. Their grinning faces melted the frown from Nina's face and Corey was glad to see the enthusiasm back in her eyes.

"Come on, I think we're almost there."

They continued along the path for another twenty minutes, and as they reached the top of a hill, a splendid view of the city greeted them. Nina gasped in awe, "Oh wow!"

The city was built at the base of Mount Coronet with some of the more northern buildings climbing up it. Nina could clearly make out a lot of construction work all over the town. Clouds of steam was emanating from tall chimneys at the topmost northern area where what appeared to be a large factory was built into the mountain side.

"That must be the mine," Corey said following her gaze and picking up Eevee. Linoone and Chimchar climbed up onto Nina shoulder to also get a better view, "I heard the city is famous for its resource of rare minerals."

"I've never been to Oreburgh City before. It looks amazing!" Nina took in the sight in awe. The factory stood over the rest of the city like a proud parent watching over their children. Just outside the city was a little farmhouse where a herd of Tauros and Miltank grazed in the field. A high-pitched whistle caught their attention, and to the south-east, they just made out the movement of a steam train leaving the city. They all listened to the chugging of the distant engine as the train passed the farm and made its way across the red metal bridge stretching over the gorge to the west where it disappeared into the trees on the other side.

Nina's face broke out into an excited grin, "Well, first thing's first; I'm going to challenge the Gym Leader!"


	13. Chapter 13

"Err Nina? Didn't… you promise… your Mum you… would call her when… you got here?" Corey puffed, running after his friend.

"Don't worry I will! It's just that I've been waiting for a gym battle for so long I can't wait any longer! Besides if I win this battle I will have something to tell her," she called back as she raced her way passed the little farm house just outside the city. The local farmer watched them run by with a smile and chuckled at her enthusiasm.

When they entered the city, Nina stopped to take it all in. Unlike the towers of Jubilife City, the majority of Oreburgh's buildings looked to be no more than two stories tall, allowing the sun's rays to cast over the entire city. It was the middle of the afternoon so the streets were packed with people going about their daily business. Trucks drove by carrying construction equipment, vans delivered goods to stores, and taxis dropped off customers to their destinations. People and their Pokemon walked by, coming in and out of restaurants and shops. Children of all ages ran passed, cheers of excitement following them wherever they went. Everyone seemed in high spirits and greeted each other as they passed.

Nina and her companions wandered the lively city for a while but saw no sign of the Gym. They saw houses, restaurants, shops, offices and other places of business, but nothing to indicate the gym. Deciding they must have missed it, they retraced their steps. The afternoon soon turned into early evening and they still had no luck. They stopped outside the factory gates to take a breather when a stocky man with short reddish brown hair and a beard approached them. He was wearing a brown jacket with matching trousers, a black shirt and brown boots.

"Hey there kids! I've seen you running by here a few times. You lost?"

"Yeah. We're looking for the gym," said Nina.

The man smiled, "Ah, you must be new to town. The Gym's sign was knocked down the other day, so unless you already know where it was I guess you'd have a hard time finding it. Well, you're almost there, it's just a little ways down the road," he pointed to the west, "I'm almost finished my shift here, so if you want I can show you the way and introduce you to the Gym Leader."

They nodded their thanks and waited for ten minutes while the man, who soon introduced himself as Bernie, finished his work shift and met them outside. When they reached outside the Gym, it wasn't what they expected. The doorway was simply two large steel doors built into a lower part of the mountain. Construction platforms were placed around the doorway where the Gym's sign had been. According to Bernie, a few days ago a rock falling from the mountain had knocked into the sign and shattered the metal holdings, causing the sign to fall.

"Before, you could see the Gym's sign from all over the city so it was easy to find, but because it keeps getting knocked down, we've decided to remove it completely before someone gets hurt. We're in the process of making directional signs for around the city so newcomers like yourselves know where to go," said Bernie.

He led them inside and through a few corridors until they came to some double doors that lead into a room filled with technical equipment and medicine cabinets. Nina looked around; settled on a table in the centre of the room was a sandy coloured ceratopsian dinosaur Pokemon with a dark grey oval shaped head. Nina had never seen anything like it and stared at the Pokemon in awe and pulled out her Pokedex.

"Shieldon, the Shield Pokemon. A Pokemon that inhabited jungles one hundred million years ago. It habitually polishes its face by rubbing it against tree trunks. It is weak to attacks from behind."

"That's Sal's Shieldon," said Bernie, "Sal must be fixing him up after all their work today. Try not to get too close," he added when everyone gathered around it, "Shieldon doesn't like being crowded, especially by strangers. It's very difficult to earn his trust. He's stubborn that way."

"Who's stubborn?"

Nina jumped and everyone turned their attention to the man at the door. He had cropped black hair and hazel eyes. He wore a red plaid shirt, khaki trousers and brown boots. He was tall and looked to be in his early twenties. He looked around at everyone with an amused smile.

"Ha-ha, don't worry Sal, I wasn't talking about you," Bernie chuckled, "Although, when I think about you can be quite stubborn too."

"Very funny, Bernie," He placed a bowl full of Pokemon food in front of Shieldon then turned his attention to the young trainers, "So, I'm guessing you're both here to challenge me to a gym battle?"

"Just me, actually," said Nina.

"Have you had experience in battles?"

"Yup. I came second in a competition last Friday and won a Poketch," she smiled proudly and held up her left arm to show off her prize.

Sal nodded, "Alright, I accept your challenge. Shieldon and I have been working hard today so once he's had something to eat we'll head on to the gym."

Once Shieldon was fit, healthy and ready to battle Sal returned him to his pokeball.

"Is this your first gym battle Nina?" Sal asked as they headed to the battle area.

"Yeah."

"Nervous?"

"A little, but I've been waiting for this for a long time. For years, it's been my dream to travel and earn all eight badges so I can enter the Sinnoh League."

He grinned, "It seems like you're well prepared. When did you register?"

Nina froze, "Register?"

Sal stopped in his tracks and stared at her, "You haven't registered for the league?"

"No..."

"If you want to enter the Sinnoh League you need to register before you challenge any of the gyms."

Nina exchanged a glance with Corey and felt her face flush. She knew about registering. She had learned that in school, but with all the excitement the last few days she had completely forgotten.

Sal saw her embarrassment and waved it off, "Don't worry about it. Come on, let's go get you registered."

Sal took them to an office room where a computer sat on the desk in the centre of the room.

"Do you have a Pokedex?"

She nodded and handed it to him. He placed it into an open slot on the computer tower.

"A Pokedex isn't just for recording data of Pokemon; it's also your identification as a trainer."

He pressed a few keys on the keyboard and a photo of Nina, along with her age, gender, hometown, the number of badges she had won, - or not -, and a five-digit number.

'_So that's what that photo was for,'_ She thought, remembering getting her photo taken by professor Rowan a week before her birthday.

"When trainers start their journey, they are given an identification number known as their Trainer ID. With this number gym leaders and league administrators can find out all your personal details and achievements," He smiled, "Most trainers use ID cards and only a few are given a Pokedex. Professor Rowan must see potential in you."

Nina's cheeks flushed a deep red. Bernie chuckled, "You're embarrassing the poor girl Sal!"

Once Sal finished registering her details with the league he ejected the Pokedex and handed it back to Nina.

"I've recorded your details and registered them for the league. You're all set to go."

"Are you ready?"

"You bet I am."

Nina, Linoone and Chimchar stood at the opposite end of the rocky battle arena from Sal. She was shaking a little due to both nerves and excitement. She knew this battle was going to be a lot tougher than previous battles but she had confidence in her Pokemon. She could win this.

"Good luck Nina!" Corey yelled from the stands with Nina's camera in hand. Eevee also cried her support.

"There will be a maximum of two rounds. The first to knock out all of their opponents Pokemon will be declared the winner," Said Bernie, who was standing in the referee's box beside the arena, "Please choose your first Pokemon."

Nina took a minute to think of who she would use first. Linoone being a normal type would deal very little damage. From what she learned of its pokedex entry, Shieldon was part steel type which was weak to fire. She had the advantage. When her eyes settled on the fire-chimp he understood.

"Chimchar!" he nodded and took his place on the battlefield.

With her decision made, Sal released his Pokemon from its pokeball "Shieldon is my only Pokemon, so if you defeat him you win."

She nodded and swallowed her nerves. This battle was going to be tough, but she was going to do her best. When Bernie saw that both challengers were ready he blew the whistle, "Begin!"

"Chimchar, use Flame Wheel!"

Chimchar jumped into a spin and lit his body in flames. Shieldon didn't move as the fire Pokemon crashed into its face. Chimchar spun backwards from the impact and landed safely on his feet. Shieldon hadn't budged an inch.

"It didn't do anything?" Nina said in shock.

"Judging by you using a fire type move as your first, I'm guessing you are aware that steel type Pokemon are weak against fire. But, Shieldon is also a rock type."

"And fire moves on rock types aren't very effective," she said aloud to herself.

"So, you can see where the rock type reduces the power of fire moves?"

Nina nodded.

"Good. Now it's my turn. Shieldon, use Stone Edge."

A dozen sharp-edged stones appeared and circled Shieldon's body. The dinosaur Pokemon roared and the jagged stones launched towards Chimchar.

"Dodge it, Chimchar!"

Chimchar narrowly dodged the first stone, then another, but as soon as the third hit him the rest crashed into him mercilessly. He cried out and fell to the ground.

"Chimchar, are you alright?" Nina asked.

With difficulty, Chimchar managed to get back onto his feet.

'_That Stone Edge is powerful. I hope Chimchar can still battle after that,_' she thought.

"Surely you can do better than that?" Sal taunted her.

A little taken aback by his taunts, Nina frowned, but quickly regained her focus, "Chimchar, use Flame Wheel again!"

Although he was still out of breath from the damage of the previous attack Chimchar yelled with determination and charged for another attack.

Sal smirked, "Again? Alright then. Shieldon, use Stone Edge!"

Shieldon summoned more sharp stones around his body and launched them at the flaming Chimchar. Chimchar stopped spinning and the flames dissipated as every stone hurtled into him; their sharp edges cutting into his skin. He was sent flying back towards Nina and landed on his back a few feet in front of her.

"Chimchar!" Nina cried.

"Chimchar is unable to battle. The winner of this round is Sal!" Said Bernie.

Corey frowned, "Poor Chimchar."

Nina ran to the chimp Pokemon and gently picked him up. She frowned when she saw the ashamed look on his face. She shook her head then smiled at him, "Hey, don't be sad, you did really good Chimchar. I'm proud of you."

Chimchar's mouth twitched a little but she could see he was still upset.

"Now, you get a good rest," she returned him to his pokeball.

"When you said, you were ready to challenge me I believed you. Don't tell me this is all you can do?"

Nina felt her face heat. Her first impression of him was that he was nice, but now she was beginning to think differently. She didn't like how he insulted her. After all, this was her very first gym battle and she was trying her best. He had a lot more experience so of course he had the advantage.

"Please choose your next Pokemon Nina," Bernie said.

She looked at him and he gave her a reassuring smile. She shook her head to clear her angry thoughts and nodded at him. She looked down at Linoone, "You ready, Linoone?"

The badger Pokemon nodded and took position on the arena.

"Linoone is my only other Pokemon," Nina said.

Bernie nodded, "Alright, then whoever wins this battle is the victor. Begin!"

Sal wasted no time, "Shieldon, use Stone Edge!"

"Dodge it Linoone, then use Quick Attack!"

Linoone managed to dodge the attack and dashed at Shieldon. He rammed his body into Shieldon's then jumped back ready to attack again. Again, Shieldon hadn't moved.

"Just how powerful is that Shieldon?!" Nina exclaimed. She knew Linoone's attack wouldn't do much, but the fact that Shieldon didn't even appear phased in the slightest worried her.

Sal chuckled, "There's a reason why I'm the Gym Leader. Simple little attacks like that aren't going to do anything. If you want to win you must do better than that."

Nina growled angrily, "Linoone, use Headbutt!"

Linoone sprang into a run.

"Shieldon use Iron Defence."

Shieldon's body lit up in a white light and its steel head gleamed like it was freshly polished.

Linoone smashed into Shieldon head to head. Linoone pushed as hard as he could to try throw Shieldon off balance, but it held its ground.

"Shieldon, knock Linoone back, then use Stone Edge."

Shieldon took a step forward and lifted its head, knocking Linoone up and away. It launched the stones at Linoone who was unable to dodge as he fell through the air. He yelped in pain as each stone crashed into him and knocked him to the ground.

"I admit, I'm quite disappointed by this match. I really thought this would be a good challenge."

She was growing tired of his mockery. She didn't know what else to do. None of Linoone's attacks were going to do much against Shieldon's defences. She looked at Linoone who was struggling to move. Shieldon was too strong and Linoone was too weak to dodge its attacks. At this rate, the only thing she was going to achieve is injuring her Pokemon further. She frowned and looked to the ground in shame.

"I forfeit."

Linoone turned around to look at her in surprise. He frowned when he saw her disappointment; not at him, but at herself.

"Are you sure, Nina?" Bernie asked. She nodded, "Due to the challenger's forfeit the victory goes to Sal!"

Linoone limped over to Nina and placed a reassuring claw on her leg. She knelt and embraced him.

Sal returned Shieldon to his pokeball and walked over to her.

"If that's your best effort there's no chance of you getting into the league. I suggest you take some more time to train your Pokemon before challenging me again," he said bluntly and walked out of the arena.

Nina's eyes started to water. She tried to blink them away but it only caused them to pour down her red cheeks.

Corey and Eevee ran over to them. He stood awkwardly unsure what to say to comfort her, "Hey, don't worry Nina. I think you done really well."

She sniffled and tried to dry her tears. She gave him a sad smile. She knew he was trying to cheer her up, but she felt she let her Pokemon down. She was foolish to think she was ready to take on a Gym Leader. Sure, she came second in the Poketch competition but that was against other novice trainers, not a professional Gym Leader.

"Don't let this loss get you down lass," Bernie said, "Not everyone wins their first gym battle."

She stood up, still holding Linoone in an embrace, her face wet with tears, "I know, but Sal didn't have to say those things."

Bernie scratched the back of his neck, "Ah, don't let his words get to you. He doesn't really mean it. It's just something he does to try and throw off his opponent's concentration,"

He placed a hand on her shoulder, "You go take your Pokemon to Nurse Joy and get some rest. If you want to start training come meet me outside the gym tomorrow morning around nine."


	14. Chapter 14

After her humiliating defeat, Nina and Corey headed back to the Pokemon Centre to get Chimchar and Linoone healed. Being weaker to rock, Chimchar took the most damage and Nurse Joy said she would like to keep him in all night to make sure he made a full recovery. She offered a room for them to stay in and after they left their belongings in their room, and Chimchar in the recovery room to rest, Nina headed for a phone.

"I didn't stand a chance Mum. Sal took Chimchar out in a few minutes and Linoone wouldn't have lasted much longer. It was embarrassing."

"Don't let it get you down, darling. Not everyone wins their first gym battle."

"That's what Bernie said."

"You know, your Father didn't win his first either. In fact, he didn't win a gym battle until his fifth attempt."

"Really?" She found that a little hard to believe considering how great a trainer her dad is.

"Really," Fey continued, "Sure, his first loss knocked his confidence a little, but he didn't give up and you shouldn't either. The best thing to do is take the experience and learn from it, just like your father did. I forget how alike you both are."

Nina smiled. Her mother was always good at reassuring her and hearing how her father was the same at her age lifted her spirit a little, "You're right. Thanks, Mum."

Fey smiled, "You're welcome, dear. Just keep positive and remember that it takes time to get where you want to be, you just have to keep going. Now go and enjoy the rest of the day and send my love to Chimchar and Linoone."

"I will, Mum, thanks," Nina hung up the phone and turned to Corey, who was standing at the counter with Linoone and talking to Nurse Joy.

"Everything alright?" he asked when she approached.

She nodded, "Yeah, thanks. Sorry I was such a downer earlier."

"Don't worry about it. I understand."

Linoone embraced her then climbed up onto her shoulder. With a promise from Nurse Joy to not stay out too late, they headed out for dinner. In all the excitement for her gym battle, Nina had completely forgotten about food, but when her nose caught the delicious scents from nearby restaurants, her overlooked appetite came back with a vengeance.

"I'm never going to get used to this," Corey commented to himself, watching her and Linoone stuff their faces with numerous bowls of noodles.

By eight o'clock they were back at the Pokemon Centre. Some workers from the mine had left their Pokemon in Nurse Joy's care until morning and Nina and Corey offered their assistance. Nurse Joy was grateful for their help and showed them how to clean and wrap up the wounds of some of the Pokemon with bandages so they would know what to do if their Pokemon got injured while they were travelling. Nina was no expert but she knew how to clean cuts and how to stop them from getting infected.

"You're quite good at this," Corey said as he helped her take care of a deep cut on a Machoke's arm.

After Corey rinsed the wound under some running water, Nina gently dabbed a gauze swab on it to dry up some of the blood and water, being careful not to cause more pain. She then wiped away any remaining dirt with another clean swab, and once she was finished, Corey wrapped a bandage around it.

"There you go, Machoke," Corey said when he was finished.

"Machoke!" The Pokemon smiled and nodded in thanks for their help. It stood up from the bench and followed Nurse Joy, who was about to take a Geodude through to the recovery room to rest.

"Did you learn first aid at school?" Corey asked while washing his hands.

"A little, but it was mostly my Dad who taught me. I used to get cuts and bruises all the time from climbing trees and crawling through bushes, so he taught me how to take care of wounds in case I got hurt on my journey," she smiled.

"If you don't mind me asking, where is your dad? It's just, I've never seen you talk to him," Corey felt a little awkward asking as it was none of his business, but his curiosity got the better of him. Nina didn't seem to mind however as her face lit up into a big smile.

"He's travelling the world. It's something he's always loved doing, but he hasn't had much chance since I was born. We used to go on holiday to other regions, but it was only for a few weeks at a time. My mum says he is never one to stay still for too long and he's passed that trait onto me," her lips stretched to a huge grin and there was a hint of pride shining in her eyes as she said this.

"Does he travel alone?"

"No, he travels with my uncle Shane. Well, he's not really my uncle, but he's my Dad's best friend and I've known him all my life, so he's kinda like an uncle to me. Dad writes letters now and again, and in the last one they were in a region called Unova. I don't know where it is, but Mum says it's really far away."

"You must miss him," said Corey, noticing her smile turn sad.

"I do, but him following his dreams makes me want to follow mine. Mum and Dad are always telling me to do whatever makes me happy. I've always wanted to be a great trainer like them and exploring is something I've always loved doing, so now that I'm on my journey, I can do both. At least this time I can go further and make new friends along the way," she gave Eevee a pet on the head as she excitedly bounced around her.

Corey felt his smile widened until his lips couldn't stretch any further. There was a sort of spark when he and Nina first met. Despite being complete strangers, they seemed to get along like they'd been best friends for years. Now Corey knew why. He first noticed her love for Pokemon was like his own, but the more time he sent with her, the more he realised how alike they both were. They both loved to explore, and both were inspired by their family. Their journey had only begun, but Corey knew he'd made the right choice in joining Nina and her Pokemon.

When the clock struck ten, Nurse Joy came through to thank them for their assistance and advised they head to bed and get a good night's sleep. Both Nina and Corey were tired so they had no objections. They stayed up for a little while longer and Nina wrote in her journal, as usual, before deciding to go to sleep. Before Nina fell asleep she thought about her gym battle and Sal's tactic at trying to discourage her. She was determined to train hard and beat him the next time.

**Thursday – April 1****st**

It was just before nine o'clock the next morning and Nina, Linoone, Corey and Eevee were waiting outside the gym for Bernie. Earlier that morning Nina thought about taking the day off to look around the town, but she really wanted to get her training started, and after talking with Chimchar first thing, she realized he was just as determined as her. Both were still hurt over their easy loss and wanted to get in as much practice as possible before facing Sal again. They'd been waiting for roughly five minutes when Bernie came over to them dressed in his work clothes.

"Hey, g'morning kids," he said, "Have you been waiting long?"

They shook their heads, "Ah good. I was talking to Sal earlier about you wanting to get some training done and he said the best place would be in the mine. There are all sorts of Pokemon in there. And don't worry, it's completely safe. The mine is massive and we've cordoned an area specifically for trainers to train."

Nina felt her skin crawl, and Corey frowned, "Nina doesn't like dark and closed in places."

"Don't worry, there are lanterns along the walls throughout the entire mine so it's well-lit and there's plenty of room to move around."

Nina shivered at the thought, "I don't know."

Bernie placed a hand on her shoulder, "Trust me, it'll be alright. There aren't many but the Pokemon that live there are tough and make good training partners. And if you run into trouble, there will be miners nearby who can help you. Think of it as a chance to overcome your fear."

He had a point. If she was going to travel across Sinnoh and other regions she would have to go through caves and other dark places again at some point. She didn't want to panic in the middle of a cave again like she did yesterday.

She nodded, "Alright, but not for too long."

**Saturday – April 3rd**

"Chimchar, use Flame Wheel!"

Chimchar yelled and rolled into a ball of flames. He spun on the ground then bounced into the air aiming for his target; a Zubat. Nina was afraid when it first approached them, but when she saw it was alone she swallowed her fear and started the battle.

The Zubat swiftly moved sideways out of Chimchar's way. Chimchar flew spinning towards the ceiling. He dropped the flame barrier and stopped spinning by landing his feet against the ceiling. Zubat was right beneath him.

"Use Flame Wheel again!"

Chimchar kicked off the ceiling and launched his flaming body at Zubat. He smashed right on top of it and it fell to the ground unconscious.

"Great job, Chimchar!"

It was their third day training in the mine. Once Nina started her training on day one, she became so focused that she momentarily forgot her fear of caves and hadn't realized until Bernie came to get them four hours later. Since then they had been coming into the mine every morning to train for a few hours then would head into town. They had spent some time at the trainer's school where they learned some tactics on battling rock Pokemon and how to use your surroundings to your advantage. She also learned that Chimchar, being a fire type, was weak against rock type moves and Linoone's normal type attacks, weren't very effective either. So apart from having trained for longer and having more knowledge, Sal still had a type advantage over them. Nina was still trying to figure out how to work around that.

"You guys are getting really good," Corey said.

Nina smiled, "Thanks. How's your training going?"

While Nina was training with Chimchar and Linoone, Corey had decided to practice some techniques with Eevee. While the small furry Pokemon was not one for battling much, she took great joy in learning. She practised and practised her moves, never deterred when she failed, and even though she wasn't as skilled as her friends, she has improved on her speed and accuracy.

"It's going great. Her accuracy is much better," he pointed at a wooden board on the wall with a faint target painted on it where Eevee had practised her Sand-Attack. For a while the target had been clean of any dirt but now it was covered in brown splodges.

"That's great work, Eevee," she said and the fluffy brown Pokemon danced around her in delight.

A sudden screech caused them to pause as two more Zubat appeared, and the one Chimchar had just battled scrambled to its comrades' sides. They hovered above them angrily, ready to attack.

"Quick, Chimchar, use Ember."

Just as he was about to attack, the Zubat let out a deafening screech. Nina's hands flew to her ears and clenched her eyes shut, trying to block out the noise. When it stopped she looked up at Chimchar, Eevee and Linoone who were swaying back and forth in confusion.

"Snap out of it you three!"

All three Zubat dashed towards them and smacked them over the head with their wings. Eevee was knocked back furthest and with a shake of her head, her confusion wore off.

"Come on Chimchar, Linoone!"

"Eevee use Sand-Attack!"

Eevee leapt forward with enthusiasm and with her back legs kicked some dirt up at the Zubat. Though they had no eyes, the slight impact of the dirt was enough to get their attention away from her friends. With all three Zubat focused on her she stood ready for her trainer's command.

When the first Zubat went to attack her, Corey commanded Eevee to dodge then use Tackle. She was successful in knocking it away but as she landed back on the ground the other two charged. A burst of tiny flames stopped their pursuit and they backed away as Chimchar and Linoone, now snapped out of their confusion, stood by their friend against the three Zubat, evening the odds.

The Zubat seemed to take a breath as they prepared their attack.

"Quick Chimchar, use Ember again!"

The Zubat dodged the attack and spread apart.

"Now!" Nina and Corey yelled in unison.

With a Tackle, Headbutt and Flame Wheel, their Pokemon knocked the Zubat out of the air where they crashed into the wall, dizzily swaying on the ground. Seeing they were outmatched they weakly flapped their wings and took off deeper into the cave in defeat.

Corey sighed a breath of relief, "Phew! Glad that's over. Good job guys."

"All this excitement has made me hungry. I think it's time for some lunch."


	15. Chapter 15

"Ah, that was lovely!" Nina rubbed her stomach, which was now full of chocolate cake.

"I don't know how you can eat so much and still be able to move," Corey chuckled.

"I'm just lucky I guess, and anyway, I've got to keep my strength up for all our training, right guys?"

Chimchar pumped a fist enthusiastically, while Linoone gave a half-hearted cheer as he lay keeled over having eaten too much again, Eevee comfortingly petting him on the head.

After the waitress came to collect their dishes, giggling at the sight of Linoone and Eevee, Nina and Corey gathered their belongings and headed for the mines once again for a few more hours of practice before they turned in for the night. However, when they got there, they noticed a crowd of workers gathered and talking excitedly.

"I wonder what's going on," Corey said.

They rushed over to get a better look but there were too many people crowded and couldn't see passed them. They tried to squeeze through, but everyone was too occupied to notice them. Nina was about to give up when she saw Bernie standing a little way to the side with a big smile on his face.

"Hey Bernie, what's going on?" Nina asked.

Bernie's smile widened when he saw them approach, "Ah, you're just on time. Sal just found a fossil in the mine."

They looked around and could barely make out Sal kneeling in the centre of the crowd. He looked to be knelt next to something, but they couldn't quite see it. The workers were all gathered around in awe.

"Fossils are quite rare," Said Bernie, "So it's exciting when one is found."

"What does it do?" Nina asked.

Bernie chuckled, "Well, Sal will take it to the Oreburgh Museum and revive it."

"Revive it?" she said with eyebrows wrinkled in confusion, "Wait, is that thing a Pokemon?!"

"It _was_, and it will be again soon. Some Pokemon that lived thousands, or even millions, of years ago were turned to stone and as the world changed and grew, they were buried underground. That's what a fossil is the remains of ancient Pokemon."

Now that she thought about it she remembered Shieldon's Pokedex entry saying something about it living in jungles millions of years ago. She couldn't imagine what it would have been like for Pokemon to live thousands of years ago, never mind millions. And to think that whatever this fossil belonged to was going to be revived in the present day. She had to see this.

"Can we come and see it get revived?" asked Corey, also eager to see a new, or rather old, Pokemon brought to life.

"You'd better ask Sal, though I'm sure he'll have no problem with it," he said.

"You're not coming?" asked Nina.

"Sadly, I still have work to do but I'll come see our new friend later. The crowds breaking up, so you'd better catch Sal before he leaves. See you soon."

They waved goodbye to Bernie as he went back to work then jogged over to Sal who was making his way out to a truck, carrying a massive rock bigger than his head.

Nina walked over to Sal full of excitement, "Hey, Sal!"

"Hey, how are you two doing?" he smiled in return.

"Great thanks. Oh wow, is that the fossil?" Nina and Corey stepped closer to get a better look, their eyes wide in wonder. It looked like nothing more than a large rock with a round stone stuck in the middle.

"It doesn't look like a Pokemon," said Nina with slight disappointment.

"Perhaps not right now, but once it is revived you'll see what it once was."

"Can we come with you?" both trainers said in unison, their eyes as large and sparkling as the moon.

Sal chuckled, "Sure, I'm just heading to the museum now."

Sal loaded the rock into the back of his truck and they all hopped in. The museum wasn't far away but the rock was rather heavy to carry there.

When they entered the museum, they were greeted by a man in his mid-forties who, upon seeing what Sal was carrying, came rushing over in excitement.

"You found another one Sal? My goodness, that's the third one in two years! I swear you have a sixth sense for finding them," he said as he took a closer look.

Sal chuckled, "Not at all Dr Kaseki, it's just luck."

"Well, whatever it is, I wish I had it," he took the fossil from Sal and examined it, "I would say this is a Kabuto fossil, but let's take it to the laboratory and see for sure."

Dr Kaseki, who was the museum director, lead them through the main viewing hall where a large skeleton with a round body, two legs, a long triangle tail-tip and bones of wings formed under its upper arms was on the centre display.

"Woah, what's that?" Nina asked.

"That's an Aerodactyl. Usually, we only find remnants of ancient Pokemon, but we managed to find this one's entire skeleton. That was about three years ago," said Dr Kaseki.

Nina, Corey and their Pokemon stared up at in awe. None of them had ever seen an Aerodactyl before. Maybe it was just the skeletal appearance, but it looked scary. No doubt it was a fierce and strong Pokemon.

Linoone and Chimchar jumped from Nina's shoulder as she quickly grabbed her camera and snapped some photos as she was passing by. She was so engrossed in her picture-taking that she ended up bumping into Sal who had stopped to wait for the elevator. Embarrassed, she tucked her camera away and stood back, her cheeks flushed bright red. To her relief Sal didn't seem to notice her embarrassment, though she received a quizzical look from Corey, causing her to blush more, and when the elevator doors opened, she rushed inside.

The laboratory was smaller than Nina expected. She expected a room as big as the main hall with lots of high-tech machinery, but instead, it was no bigger than a classroom with a few pieces of machinery here and there. In the centre of the room was a table with a scanner over it, almost like the operating table in the Pokemon Center. To the far wall was a computer attached to a large cylinder chamber.

"This is the Fossil Restoration Machine," said Dr Kaseki, "Currently we only have one, but we are working on making more and bigger ones in the larger laboratories. Let me show you how the restoration is processed. May I?"

Sal handed him the fossil. Dr Kaseki then placed it into the chamber. He moved over to the computer and pressed some keys. The chamber doors shut and there was a soft humming as the machine began to work. Numbers and letters appeared all over the computer screen as the machine scanned the fossil. After a few minutes, the machine's humming stopped, and a beep indicates its completion. A picture of the scanned fossil appeared on screen along with the identified Pokemon.

"As I thought, it seems we have a Kabuto to add to our collection."

Nina and Corey stepped forward to get a closer look, and now they could see how the rock looked like a Pokemon. The round stone in the middle of the rock was, in fact, Kabuto's shell which was originally tan in colour with two black dots at the front. It had bright red eyes and its body underneath was black with four yellow crab-like claws.

Although Nina was fascinated, something about its eyes and claws gave her the creeps, causing a chill to run up her spine.

"That's what a Kabuto looked like?" asked Nina.

"That's right. And now that we've identified the fossil, we can begin the revival process," he said and pressed a few more keys on the keyboard. The machine hummed to life again and a red light beside the chamber door started flashing, indicating the process had started, "Now that the process has started, we need only wait."

"How long does it take?" asked Nina.

"For this size of Pokemon, it will take five days. Some larger ones take a bit longer," said Dr Kaseki.

"So, in five days the fossil will be restored into a Kabuto?" Corey asked.

Dr Kaseki nodded, "That is correct."

"Do all Pokemon become fossils?" Nina asked.

"Not always. When Pokemon, except for ghost Pokemon, that is, pass away their skeleton will remain. Most of the time they will vanish over time, however in some cases, a part of them is kept intact depending on how much time has passed, how tough and how well preserved they are. In a Kabuto's case, the only part ever known to be found is the outer shell, which is very durable compared to the rest of its body. A rock Pokemon's remains are most likely to keep intact the longest and every known fossil is part rock type, though we have speculation that some of these fossil Pokemon became a rock type after they've been fossilized."

"That's amazing," said Corey.

Nina nodded in agreement, "Have you revived any other fossils?"

"Many have been found over the last twenty years when the mines and museum opened, though the revival technology in this museum is relatively new. And since the machines are still quite small, only five smaller fossils have been revived so far, hence why the Aerodactyl skeleton is still on display instead of it revived. This Kabuto will be the sixth," said Sal, "The others are still here if you want to see them."

Dr Kaseki and Sal led them through some corridors and into a large room filled with trees, rocks, a water stream and other kinds of plant life. It was just like walking into a jungle. Nina, who was eager to see a Pokemon, ran into the middle of the room. They all looked in every direction but didn't see anything that looked like a Pokemon.

Nina frowned in disappointment when she felt Linoone pinch her foot, "Ouch! Linoone!"

She looked down at the badger Pokemon; except it wasn't him, he was sitting beside Chimchar and Eevee by the doorway. A little grey and green Pokemon with eight white and red appendages and two large beady eyes were staring up at her while its claws nipped at her feet. Nina felt a chill run down her spine and she fell back in surprise.

Dr Kaseki and Sal were laughing, "That's an Anorith. Don't worry it won't hurt you."

Corey, Eevee, Chimchar and Linoone came running over to greet the Pokemon.

"Hi there, Anorith, it's nice to meet you," said Corey as he knelt to speak to it.

"Anorith!" it said happily.

Corey smiled and petted its head, "Don't mind Nina. I think you just surprised her is all."

Nina stood up, face flushed with embarrassment. Suddenly she felt a presence behind her. She slowly turned around.

"AHHH!"

Corey turned around on alert then burst out laughing. Nina was crouched on the ground holding her head and screaming. A green plant like Pokemon with yellow markings on it and pinkish tentacles around its head was peering down at Nina through black and yellow eyes. By the way it was moving and looking at her, Corey knew it wasn't threatening her.

Sal walked over to her, "Nina, it's alright. None of the Pokemon here are going to hurt you. They've all been trained not to hurt anyone,"

He placed a hand on her shoulder to try and calm her down.

She stopped screaming and slowly looked up at the Pokemon. It cocked its head sideways to look at her. She couldn't help but smile. Even though she was intimidated by its appearance she couldn't help but think it looked cute when it tilted its head like that.

"See, it's alright," Sal helped her up off the ground, "This here is a Cradily."

"Err, hi," she said shyly. She'd been so eager to see them but the way they both snuck up on her took her by complete surprise. She felt humiliated now, "Sorry for screaming, but you scared me when you snuck up on me."

Cradily extended its neck forward so that its head was in range of Nina. She took the hint and petted it on the head, "Cradily! Cradily!"

"Cradily seems to like you," Sal said and petted it.

"Both Anorith and Lileep, the previous evolutionary form of Cradily, fossils were found on the shore a few miles south of here. In ancient times they lived on a small island called Wales Island in the Hoenn Region however some of their fossils have been recently discovered on Route 111 of the Hoenn Region. Our guess is that the ocean carried some of the fossils over here to Sinnoh, which is probably the case with Kabuto too since they're more commonly found in Kanto," said Dr Kaseki.

"That's amazing," Said Corey, "I wonder how many other fossils there are out in the world."

"That is something we hope to find out one day."

They stayed at the museum for a few more hours and played with Anorith, Cradily and a Cranidos that'd been hiding in the bushes watching them. And like the other two, decided to sneak up on Nina, giving her another scare. Although Nina was completely humiliated it didn't take her long to forget about it and join in the fun. Dr Kaseki then decided to give them a tour around the museum where they learned about the types of fossils that had been discovered around Sinnoh and the Pokemon they belonged to.

Nina stopped and pointed to a replica of a round fossil with a ridge across it, "Hey, does this one belong to a Shieldon? I remember my pokedex saying that it lived a long time ago, so it must have been a fossil too, right?"

Sal nodded, "That's right, this particular one belonged to my Shieldon. It was the first fossil I ever found back before I became the gym leader and since he was revived we've been close friends."

"So that's why Shieldon is so strong because you've been training for a long time?"

He nodded, "Exactly."

"Well we've been training hard too, so when we battle you again you better watch out!"

Sal smiled, "That's the spirit. However, if you want a rematch I would like you to wait. I'll be spending a lot of time in the mine over the next few days to see if there are any more fossils to be found, so in the meantime, you can take your time to train."

"Alright, sounds like a plan."


	16. Chapter 16

**Thursday – April 8th**

The sound of laughter could be heard. Nina was sitting on a bench near the Pokemon Centre with her head held in her hands, completely embarrassed, while Corey, and their Pokemon, looked through the photos she had printed earlier that day.

"Hey, Nina, this is a good one," Corey laughed and held the photo up for her to see. Linoone and Eevee were lying on their backs on the ground, trying to breath, and Chimchar was sitting between the two humans wiping tears from his eyes.

The young brunette sighed and looked at the photo. After five days of training they decided to take today off to visit the museum and see the Kabuto. She was in the restoration room in the museum moments after Kabuto had been revived and had asked one of the lab assistants to take a photo of her meeting the new Pokemon. But as she leaned forward to greet the ancient Pokemon into the present day it latched onto her face. While she and Dr Kaseki were trying to pry it off, in the background Corey was struggling not to laugh.

Nina's face went bright red, "Yeah, yeah, very funny."

"OK, what about this one then?" he held up another where Kabuto was on top of her head and no one seemed to be helping her while she screamed.

"So not funny," she reached forward and snatched the camera from him, "You guys are mean," she said but couldn't help smiling.

"Sorry Nina, but it was kinda funny. If it had been me, I bet you would have laughed"

"Yeah I guess you're right, I would have," she chuckled.

A loud explosion suddenly caught their attention. Their eyes darted around to find the direction it came from.

"What was that?"

They ran around the corner of the Pokemon Centre to see a group of people running toward the mine where a large billow of smoke was emanating. Nina and Corey gave each other a quick glance then ran over. There were frantic cries of panic as some of the workers tried to keep the gathering townsfolk back. When Nina and Corey got in range to see the mine, they noticed that the entrance was now completely blocked by rocks and gravel. A few injured miners were being escorted or carried away. Panic swelled in Nina as she looked around frantically for answers.

She caught sight of Bernie who was talking to a man with purple-brown hair and a beard. After a few more words were exchanged the man nodded and went over to the remaining workers and started giving them instructions, but Nina couldn't hear over the cries of the townsfolk. Bernie was walking over to the crowd with a worried expression when he heard his name being called. He looked around to find the person calling his name when he spotted Nina and Corey waving at him.

"Hey, are you two alright? You weren't near the mine, were you?"

"No, we're fine. What's going on?"

"The entrance to the mine has collapsed and there are still people inside," Bernie was panicking and it frightened Nina to see the lively man so worried.

"Is there anything we can do?"

He shook his head, "All I can ask is for you to stay back. I don't want any of you getting hurt trying to help."

Nina frowned but nodded. She wanted to help but she knew it was best to stay out of the way rather than make things worse. All they could do was watch as Bernie and the miners, along with their Pokemon, did what they could to shift the rocks blocking the entrance. The man that spoke to Bernie was standing with the townsfolk trying to keep them calm. Nina then noticed that he held his right hand to his chest.

"Dad!" A young boy with cordovan hair and glasses called the man but he was too busy talking to a woman to notice. The boy tried to push past the crowd, "Dad!"

The man finally noticed the boy and walked over to him, "Stay back, Roark!"

The boy looked up at his father and pointed in the direction he just came, "Dad, you've got to come!"

The man sighed in frustration, "Now isn't the time, Roark, I've got important things to handle here right now."

"But Dad-"

"No!" He said sternly and walked away.

The boy, who looked to be a little younger than Nina, frowned and kept looking between his father and where he had gestured to. Nina knew something wasn't right. She and Corey exchanged a glance then went over to the boy.

"Hey, is something wrong?" Corey asked.

He shook his head, "I saw two trainers stealing Pokemon from the Pokemon Centre!"

"What trainers?" Nina asked in concern.

The boy shrugged, "I don't know. I've never seen them before."

"What did they look like?" Corey asked.

"It was a man and a woman, and they were wearing black and yellow clothes and they had two Pokemon with them."

Nina and Corey exchanged a worried glance and nodded, "Thanks, Roark. You stay here with everyone, and don't worry, we'll take care of those thieves."

They wasted no time and ran towards the Pokemon Centre. Nina had no doubt in her mind that it was Team Umbra that Roark was talking about and wondered if they were what caused the mine entrance to collapse. That way while everyone was distracted by the mine they could break into the Pokemon Centre and steal the Pokemon before anyone noticed. Unfortunately for them they'd been seen, and Nina and Corey were going to stop them.

They rushed inside the Pokemon Centre and almost ran into Nurse Joy. Panic was etched all over her face and her hair was tangled and messy.

"Nurse Joy, are you alright? What about the Pokemon?"

"Oh, it's terrible! I heard the explosion at the mine and ran outside for a moment and when I came back inside all of the Pokemon were gone!" She fell to her knees and cried into her hands.

"Don't worry, Nurse Joy," Corey said calmly, "We'll get the Pokemon back, I promise."

Nina and Corey rushed through the Centre into the recovery room. The room was trashed with beds flipped over and fluff from the bedding scattered everywhere. Nina looked around in horror as she noticed deep claw marks in a mattress where a Pokemon had clearly fought against its attacker. But instead of focusing on anything in the room, Corey ran straight to the window that was left wide open. He poked his head out and noticed boot marks on the ground.

"They went this way!" he climbed through the window and carefully landed on the ground outside. Nina and their Pokemon followed Corey as he traced the thieves' footsteps. The further they ran, the further the path took them out of the city until they noticed a sign that read 'Route 207'.

"They can't have gotten too far," Corey said to himself.

Linoone and Eevee, who had run on ahead, suddenly stopped and perked their ears.

"Hey, do you hear that?" Nina said, having also stopped to listen. Chimchar tried to listen too.

Corey listened carefully then heard the yells of a frightened Pokemon, "This way!"

They followed the noise until they reached the base of a cliff where two young adults were carrying a net full of Pokemon.

"Will you shut up!" The female roared at a little egg-shaped Pokemon with a soft pink and dark pink body.

"Happiny!" It continued to cry.

"Shut up!"

"Stop!" Corey yelled in time to stop her from kicking the Pokemon.

"Beat it kid, this is none of your business!"

While she attempted to drag the net, the male focused his attention on the young trainers. He smirked when he noticed Nina, "Come now Dara, don't you want to say hello to our little friends here?"

Dara growled in frustration and let go of the net. She turned around again and saw the brunette.

"Well, well, if it isn't the little bird hero," she laughed, "Come to rescue some more Pokemon from us terrible thieves?"

"'Terrible thieves' is right. Proper thieves don't leave a trail leading straight to them," Nina said.

Dara scoffed, "Who cares. It's not like you two are going to stop us."

"We'll see about that. Chimchar, use Ember on the net!" Chimchar who had been standing by Nina's side shot the blast of flames.

"Not this time kid! Houndour, use Flamethrower!"

Houndour's much larger flamethrower blasted through Chimchar's Ember easily. Nina and Chimchar barely managed to jump out of the way of the flames.

"Chimchar, use Flame Wheel!"

Chimchar rushed towards Houndour. When he got near he jumped up and spun into a ball of flames. Houndour yelped as Chimchar crashed into it.

"Get up, Houndour!" Dara yelled, "Isaac, why aren't you helping me?"

Isaac was standing with his arms crossed and watching with amusement, "I thought I'd leave it to you."

Dara growled, "Houndour, Bite it!"

Houndour leapt at Chimchar.

"Dodge it, Chimchar, then use Flame Wheel again!"

Chimchar did as asked and jumped over Houndour. He lit up in flames again and crashed into the canine. Dara was getting more and more frustrated.

"Isaac, we're wasting time! Do something!"

Isaac rolled his eyes and turned to Nina, "Fine. Sneasel, attack with Faint Attack!"

"Chimchar, use Ember!"

"Eevee, use Tackle!" Corey yelled, jumping in to help his friend.

Chimchar shot the flames as Sneasel ran towards him but Sneasel managed to dodge it. Eevee came charging towards it but it swiftly dodged her and started attacking her. Chimchar ran to help his friend but Sneasel knocked Eevee away and she crashed into him.

'_That Sneasel is tough,_' Nina thought, remembering their last battle.

"Just give up now, little girl. You can't beat us," said Isaac.

Nina glared, "I won't give up! Chimchar, use Flame Wheel!"

Chimchar did as asked and spun towards Sneasel. Isaac smirked and ordered Sneasel to attack again. While Eevee struggled to her feet, Sneasel smashed into Chimchar, throwing him crashing into a tree, just like it had done to Linoone last time.

"Chimchar!" Nina cried and ran over to him. He was unconscious. She frowned, "I'm sorry, Chimchar," she said and returned him to his Pokeball.

"We're not going to win like this," whispered Corey as Eevee stood beside them.

"What are we going to do?" Nina whispered back.

"I Have an idea, but I'll need to you to try and distract the guy while Eevee and I take out the girl. Then I'll make a grab for the Pokemon."

Nina gulped and nodded. She didn't like the idea of Linoone battling Isaac's Sneasel as he was so strong, but they had little choice right now. Especially since Dara and Houndour were ready to battle again.

"Alright, Linoone, it's up to us. Use Quick Attack!"

While Nina battled Isaac, Corey turned his attention to Dara.

"Oh, ho, ho, so you think you can take me on?" she laughed, "I don't think so. Houndour, use Bite!"

"Quick, Eevee, use Sand Attack on both of them!"

Eevee leapt forward kicked a large amount of dirt up at both the trainer and her Pokemon.

"Argh! You little wretch!" Dara yelled as she tried to get the dirt from her eyes.

Corey took his chance and ran passed her. He grabbed the net, the Pokemon inside crying for help, and started untying the knot it but it was tough. Eevee tried to bite through it but had no luck.

"Ee!" she suddenly cried as she was knocked away.

Corey gasped in fright when he was hauled from his feet and lifted by his collar.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Dara yelled.

"I'm letting these Pokemon go. They don't belong to you." He glared at her.

Dara scoffed, "And who are you? The goody-goody Pokemon rescuers?"

He struggled against her grip and kicked her.

She was about to yell at him again but was thrown off balance as Houndour crashed into her and she dropped Corey in the process. Corey scrambled to his feet and picked up the weakened Eevee.

"Eevee, are you OK?" he asked in alarm.

"Ee," she said weakly but smiled and nodded.

Corey looked up to find Nina was also holding an injured Linoone while Sneasel battled with a Shieldon. He saw Sal standing by the trees commanding Shieldon in battle. He was clutching his upper left arm where the sleeve was ripped, and blood was heavily flowing down his arm. His clothes were slightly torn, and he was covered in dirt and bruises. He looked completely worn out. He caught Corey's eye and nodded towards Isaac. Corey followed his gaze and noticed Isaac was paying full attention to the battle. Corey took the hint and ran back over to the net. He finished untying the knot and lifted the net over the heads of the Pokemon so they could get out.

Dara screamed in anger as she returned Houndour to its Pokeball. Isaac heard her and turned to see the released Pokemon glaring angrily between him and Dara. He looked back at Sneasel who fell down unconscious. He smirked and returned it to its Pokeball.

"Looks like we're both defeated this time," he looked at Nina. She glared back at him.

"Something tells me this won't be the last time we'll be seeing each other," he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black pearl. He threw it to the ground and it exploded into a cloud of smoke and once again, when it vanished they were gone.


	17. Chapter 17

"What happened to you?" Corey asked as they made their way back to the Pokemon Centre. He had Sal's good arm slung over his shoulder and was helping him to walk, despite the man being much taller than him. Sal was trying not to lean too heavily on Corey while he walked, but he was exhausted, and It was proving difficult. Nina watched him, her eyes filled with worry as she carried Linoone and Eevee. The released Pokemon followed closely behind.

"I'd been working in the mine all morning," Sal said, "We thought we'd found another fossil, so we spent a good few hours trying to dig it out, but it turned out it was just another rock. I decided to take a break, but when I got to the entrance there was an explosion and the entrance collapsed."

"You were caught in the blast?" Nina asked, her brow furrowed.

"Barely. But, if I had taken even a few more steps I could have been, and my injuries would be far worse."

"Was anyone else hurt?" Corey asked.

"Thankfully no, but some kids had been training and were given quite a scare."

"What are you doing out here anyway? Shouldn't you be at the hospital?"

"Bernie was helping me on my way there, but I told him to go back and help the others. That's when I noticed you were both missing. I asked around if anyone had seen you, but they said they hadn't. It was Roark who told me where you'd gone, so I went after you."

"Shouldn't you have asked someone else?" Nina said.

"I didn't have time. When Roark told me who you were up against I had to come straight away."

She really admired his bravery, but to see him have such difficulty moving and put himself in more potential danger worried her. What if he hadn't been able to defeat Team Umbra? What if he hadn't found them and he collapsed out here on his own? Nina understood his reason, but she still felt he should have gotten help. Then again, who was she to tell him what to do when she was known for getting herself into trouble too. She probably would have done the same in his situation. Then suddenly she realized something, "Hold on, you know who we were up against."

He was just about to answer her when his left foot gave way and he fell. Corey managed to keep hold of him enough to keep him upright on his knees. Sal winced as pain shot through his left side. Nina immediately ran over to try and help but he waved her off, saying he only needed a moment to catch his breath. Sweat clung to his dusty forehead as he struggled to control his breathing. His breaths were quick and shaky. He was clearly in a lot of pain.

After a few minutes he managed to push himself to his feet again, with Corey's help.

"We're not far now,"

It didn't take them much longer to get back into town. There weren't as many people gathered by the mine now, as most of them had either gone home or were at the hospital. Bernie, who'd been talking with some of the workers, caught site of them and ran over in panic. He breathed a sigh of relief when he realized that Nina and Corey were safe and had managed to get the Pokemon back, but scolded Sal as if he were a child for running off. Nina gathered it was just because he was worried about his friend's safety, considering his condition. Bernie took Corey's place and helped Sal over to a truck to take him to the hospital. Meanwhile, Nina and Corey took the Pokemon back to the Pokemon Centre. They were greeted by Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy, who were both relieved to see them. Nurse Joy quickly attended to the Pokemon, while Nina and Corey filled Officer Jenny in on what happened. She praised the two youngsters for their help but necessitated that they stay out of police matters in future, for their own safety. Once done with their interview they offered their assistance to Nurse Joy.

By six o'clock all the Pokemon were either returned to their trainers or were sleeping soundly in the recuperation room, along with Chimchar, Linoone and Eevee. Nina and Corey decided to leave them in Nurse Joy's care while they went to the hospital to see Sal.

Unfortunately, when they got there, he was already asleep, and Bernie told them not to worry and to go get some rest for themselves. Neither of them argued, for the day had wiped them both out, so they made their way back to the Pokemon Centre to get something to eat. There were three other trainers, along with their Pokemon, sitting in the canteen all around the same table eating when they noticed them walk in.

"Hey, it's those guys!" one boy with light green hair said. Nina and Corey exchanged confused looks, "They're the two who saved all the Pokemon from the thieves!"

The three trainers all spoke excitedly and gestured them over, each one of them patting them on the back for a job well done. Corey smiled while Nina blushed.

"Nurse Joy told us what happened," said a girl with lavender hair tied up into two ponytails on the sides of her head. Sitting by her side on the bench was a white Pokemon. It had red and blue triangular shaped patterns on its body and two small wings on its back. In her arms was a small pink egg-shaped Pokemon that Nina recognized as Happiny, "I want to thank you for bringing my Happiny and Togetic back to me."

Nina smiled, "We were glad to help."

"We don't know what we would have done if you guys hadn't gone after those thieves," said the green-haired boy, "I was scared I would never get to see my Stunky again," he gestured to the furry purple Pokemon by his side, "You're our heroes!"

"Thanks, but those thieves were too strong for us. If Sal hadn't come along when he did we don't know what we would've done," said Corey.

"What happened to him, by the way?" asked the lavender haired girl, "When I saw of him earlier, he looked hurt."

"He was trapped inside the mine," said the other boy with spiky blond hair. Nina and Corey recognized him right away; it was Darryl from the Poketch contest. He was the oldest of the group, "Me and Terry were training quite far in and when we heard the explosion. We ran for the exit, but when we got there it was gone and some of the miners were pulling Sal out of the rubble."

Nina frowned when she heard this, then felt anger towards Team Umbra. They not only hurt Sal, but they could have killed him! She knew they were crooks, but had they really intended to risk taking someone's life just to steal some Pokemon? If they were willing to do that, then how much further would they go to get what they wanted? On the two occasions she had encountered them she was lucky enough that someone came along and saved her, but what if they hadn't? What would they have done to her? She didn't want to think too much on it, but she knew if she ran into them again, which she was certain she would, she would have to be very careful.

While the group discussed the day's events, Corey and Nina grabbed something to eat. Nina's spirit had dimmed when she learned from Shona that the Oreburgh Museum had also been hit during the attack, and while no one was hurt, some fossils and a few other valuables were stolen. Since Dara and Isaac only had the stolen Pokemon, it would seem they weren't alone in the attack. This frightened Nina. Was it all Team Umbra? How many were there? Was it going to happen again? However, she didn't ponder it too long as whenever Sal was mentioned in the conversation she was engrossed. Corey began to suspect she had a bit of a crush on the gym leader. He didn't want to embarrass her about it so didn't bring up the subject; it was something he would keep to himself. They quickly made friends with the other three trainers.

Shona, the lavender haired girl, was from Eterna City, to the north, and came to Oreburgh City to visit the museum. She wasn't one for challenging the gyms, but she loved to travel and see the sights.

Terry, the green haired boy, was the youngest of the group, having only turned ten six days ago on April 2nd. He was from Jubilife City and came to Oreburgh to challenge the gym leader and begin his path to the Sinnoh League. He was delighted to meet Darryl and Nina, having watched their battle in the Poketch competition almost two weeks ago.

Darryl was from Veilstone City and had spent the last two years training for the League. He was twelve years old and had already won himself four badges, including the one from Sal.

"How did you beat him?!" Nina exclaimed in excitement. Even though she'd been training her Pokemon hard for the last few days she wouldn't refuse any tips on Sal's strategy.

Darryl nervously scratched the back of his head, "Well, I didn't exactly beat him. Sal is the toughest gym leader I've faced yet, and he's quick to pick on your strategy. He managed to take down my Poochyena and Finneon easily, and when he faced my Munchlax it was quite even, so we managed to wear Shieldon out enough to knock it unconscious but unfortunately Munchlax fell first, so by default, Sal won."

"But if you lost, why were you given a badge?"

"You don't have to beat the gym leader to earn a badge. If you've shown understanding of your Pokemon and their abilities, you'll be deemed worthy of one. I know you're probably thinking he doesn't see you worthy," he added when he saw her frown, "but that won't be the case. My guess is he's testing how determined you are to further your skills and knowledge, so he'll see an improvement the next time you face him."

"You think so?"

"I do, and I bet he would already have given you a badge after what you did today, but he probably wants to challenge you to see how much you've progressed in your training."

She smiled at that and had no doubt he was right. Hopefully after Sal was recovered, she would be able to challenge him and show him how much she had learned.


	18. Chapter 18

**Friday – April 9th**

The next morning, Nina woke to a pleasant sight. Linoone and Chimchar must have been feeling better as they had crawled up onto her bed and were snuggled warmly against her. They no longer wore bandages and looked peaceful. Nina didn't want to disturb them, but she needed to get up. She tried to move as gently as she could, but she ended up waking them anyway. They didn't seem to care though and happily jumped on her. Her laughter woke Corey and he was confused at first but was happy to see that Linoone and Chimchar were feeling better. Eevee had also snuck into his bed beside him and bounced on him as he rubbed his sleepy eyes.

It was 10am and they'd slept longer than they intended; yesterday must really have worn them out. They didn't seem to mind though and after washing and dressing they went to the canteen for breakfast where they found Shona, Terry and Darryl.

"Morning guys," said Terry, "Sleep well?"

Corey nodded and took a seat at the table, "Like a log."

"Are these your Pokemon?" Shona asked.

"Yup," Nina said and helped herself to some toast that was served on a plate in the centre of the table, "This is Linoone and Chimchar. Say hello guys."

The two Pokemon waved to the other trainers and conversed with their Pokemon.

"And this is Eevee," said Corey and lifted her up for others to see.

"Aww, they're all so cute!" Shona said and fawned over them.

"Hey, what say we have a battle? We can do two-on-two! You two, versus us two," Terry said and slapped a hand on Darryl's back, causing him to choke on some toast.

Nina nodded, "Sure, but let's get some food first. I'm starving!"

Though Nina agreed to a battle _after_ breakfast, she didn't avoid the one at the breakfast table. What started as an enjoyable meal turned into a morning brawl for the last piece of toast. But the best part was that the two fighting for the toast was Nina and Linoone. Nina went to grab it, when Linoone snatched it from her, but she wouldn't have it and tried to pry it from him, which resulted in her chasing him around the canteen. She chased him under and over the tables, and by the time she caught him he had already eaten it. The others were in fits of laughter at her defeat, while she was gutted; she wanted that piece of toast.

They spent most of the day in the Pokemon Centre training grounds battling, sharing knowledge and chatting. The day flew by quickly and before they knew it, the sun was starting to set.

Corey and Terry were observing Eevee playing with Stunky and Happiny; the skunk Pokemon was baffled by Eevee's endless energy as she bounced around him, while Happiny was absolutely delighted. Nina was scanning through her Pokedex on information about her new friends' Pokemon. Togetic was playing keep-ups with Linoone and Chimchar; the game being to keep the ball, provided by Nurse Joy, off the ground and whoever drops it loses. They were having a great time, but Linoone had to work harder as he could only turn at ninety-degree angles. He felt a little sad whenever he dropped it, but Togetic cheered him up. She was, after all, the Happiness Pokemon, sharing her joy with others. Corey joked that Eevee could be the Happiness Pokemon, considering her endless delight.

"So, how long have you and Corey been travelling?" Shona asked as she watched the Pokemon play.

"Almost a month now," said Nina, unable to believe how much time had passed already, "Seem like yesterday when I left home."

"Wow, you must have seen lots of Pokemon on your travels," she said.

Nina fished her pokedex out of her pocket and searched through it for the number of Pokemon she'd scanned, "I've seen quite a few, but I've only recorded data on twenty-nine Pokemon on my pokedex. That includes yours too."

"Wow, that's pretty good if you ask me. I haven't seen many Pokemon yet, but I want to see the cities in the region before I set out on a proper journey for the Sinnoh League, or maybe even Pokemon Contests. I still haven't decided yet. I've seen a few contests since I was six, and Togetic and Happiny seem to like them, so I'm thinking more on those lines, but I'll see how things go on our travels before we make a final decision."

"Contests are amazing. I used to watch them on TV all the time," said Nina.

"Oh? Are you going to compete in any?"

Nina shook her head, "Nah. It's not really my thing. I love to watch them, but I'm more interested in the Pokemon League. I want to win the Sinnoh League."

The doors to the Centre opened and Darryl walked out, followed by his Poochyena and another Pokemon. It was a teal and cream coloured Pokemon with pointy ears and big round eyes. It had five-fingered hands and three clawed toes and two pointy teeth sticking upwards out of its closed mouth; a Munchlax.

Though Nina had met Munchlax earlier that day, Darryl had used Poochyena during their battles as Munchlax was too busy eating. Terry had commented that Munchlax was the perfect Pokemon for her as he had witnessed her food obsession that morning. She wondered what Munchlax was like to battle.

"Hey, Darryl, how about another battle? But this time I'd like to battle Munchlax."

Before Darryl could utter his reply, Nina marched onto the arena, hands on hips.

"Right, you two off the arena," Nina said to the two boys, "Darryl and I are having a battle."

Corey and Terry glanced at each other then turned to Nina.

"Yes ma'am!" they saluted and went to sit at the side.

Seeing that he didn't have a say in the matter, Darryl took his place on the arena and called his Pokemon over.

Munchlax quickly swallowed a berry he picked from a nearby bush and stood in front of his trainer.

"Great," she looked over to Linoone, "What do you say we go for the same idea, Linoone?"

The badger Pokemon nodded and he too took his place on the arena.

"Corey, could you referee?" Darryl asked. The boy nodded and ran to the side of the arena.

"A quick one on one before lunch then Darryl?" Nina said.

"Lunch?" Terry burst out, "But you ate only a few hours ago!"

Nina shrugged, like she didn't understand what the problem was.

Darryl chuckled, "Alright, agreed. And whoever loses this battle has to buy everyone a round of ice cream."

"Deal."

"You two ready?" Corey asked and with a nod from both he waved his hand down in a karate chop motion, "Begin!"

"Munchlax, use Headbutt!" Darryl commanded and Munchlax ran towards his opponent.

"You use Headbutt too, Linoone!" Nina said. Just as Linoone was about to sprint into action something zoomed passed him and smashed right into Munchlax. The teal Pokemon yelped as he crashed into the ground.

"What the-?" Nina cried in surprise and everyone's attention went from Munchlax to the perpetrator. It was a small brownish-grey bird with white markings on its face and tail. It had black eyes with white pupils and an orange beak with a black tip. Nina's eyes lit up when she recognized it.

"Starly!" Nina cried and held her arm up as the bird flew to her, "You're feeling better I see."

"Starly!" the bird chirped.

Nina winced and laughed as Starly pecked at her head. Suddenly she felt many eyes watching her.

"Oh, sorry guys, I forgot to introduce you. Everyone, I'd like you to meet Starly. We met just over a week ago. Starly, say hi to everyone."

The bird took one glance around at everyone before turning her head away. She didn't seem to like them.

"Nina, isn't Starly supposed to be with Kathy?" Corey said as the others stared at Nina and the bird bewildered.

"Oh yeah, that's right. I guess Starly couldn't wait to see me so came looking for me. Is that it Starly?"

"Starly!" she nodded.

"Aww, Starly that's so sweet of you!" Nina smiled and stroked her crest. She cooed in response.

"I'm glad you've got a new friend and all, Nina, but why did she attack Munchlax just as we were starting our battle?" Darryl asked.

Nina looked at him then back at Starly, "I'm not sure."

"Maybe she wants to battle!" Shona said.

"You think so?" Nina said and Starly nodded. Nina smiled and looked down at Linoone, "Hey, Linoone, would it be alright if Starly took this battle?"

Before Linoone could even respond Starly's eyes darted down to him. When he made eye contact with her, he felt a shiver run up his spine and he held his paws up in defence before running over to Chimchar, who was still sitting on the step.

Corey couldn't help but chuckle, "She sure is bossy."

Starly's eyes then darted towards him and he felt himself backing away from her too. This time Nina laughed, "You boys are such wimps. Anyway, shall we continue Darryl?"

He nodded, and everyone went back to their positions. Munchlax glared at Starly as she flew down to the ground. He was ticked off at her for attacking him uncalled for, but mostly because she was proud of it.

"Alright, let the battle begin!" Corey said.

"Munchlax, use Headbutt!"

Munchlax ran towards Starly, out for revenge.

"Starly dodge it then use…" then quickly she realized; she didn't know any of Starly's moves. She had completely forgotten about checking her move-set, and now she was in the middle of a battle. She had to say something quick, "Err, keep dodging, Starly!"

Starly did as asked and kept dodging Munchlax's attacks while Nina fished in her pocket for her Pokedex, "That's it keep dodging!"

"What the heck is she doing?" said Terry.

"Looks to me like she doesn't know any of Starly's attacks," Shona replied with a giggle.

In her rush to open her Pokedex and scan Starly, she almost dropped it and pressed a few random buttons by accident.

"Argh, come on!" she growled then managed to press the correct button and held it up to Starly while she taunted Munchlax from the air.

The Pokedex read out a description of her type and below an image scan was a list of the moves Quick Attack, Gust, Wing Attack and Peck.

'_Brilliant! Those are some really good moves!'_ she thought and closed her Pokedex and placed it back in her pocket, "Alright, Starly, use Wing Attack!"

Although she was having so much fun teasing Munchlax, Starly obeyed. She dodged another attacked and flew up. Once high enough she dived down towards him and her right wing started to glow.

"Dodge it, Munchlax!" Darryl yelled but wasn't quick enough as Starly whacked her wing across Munchlax's face.

Munchlax pushed back up onto his feet and rubbed his face, miffed at the bird.

"Munchlax, use Metronome!"

'_Metronome?'_ Nina thought; she had never heard of that move before.

Munchlax stood up straight and held his hands out. He started wiggling his fingers to his left, then to his right, and back again, as they started glowing. Then it stopped, and he took a deep breath before blasting out flames from his mouth.

Starly barely managed to dodge as the flames shot past her. Nina sighed in relief; Starly had just recovered from burns, she didn't need more.

'_So, Metronome is a fire type move, huh? It takes a little time to charge so that should give me some time to attack if he uses it again,'_ she thought, "Alright, Starly, use Peck!"

Starly shot down to Munchlax and started pecking him on the head. He ran around yelling, trying to get her away from him. If this was just friendly bickering instead of a battle Nina would have burst out laughing.

"Munchlax, use Headbutt!"

Munchlax stopped in his tracks, with Starly right above him, then kicked his feet off the ground and crashed head first into the bird. Starly cried out as Munchlax's hard head hit against her. She spun in the air for a moment, before managing to balance herself and flew over by Nina to await a new command.

"Good job, Munchlax, now use Metronome again!"

Munchlax started wiggling his fingers again and Nina took the opportunity to attack, "Quick, Starly, use Wing Attack!"

Her right wing lit up again as she shot towards him. She extended her wing and swung it but Munchlax dodged it and swung an electrifying fist at her. She had no time to dodge as his fist connected with her body and a powerful surge of electricity shot through her. She cried out in pain and collapsed to the ground unconscious.

"Starly!" Nina cried and ran over to her.

"Starly can no longer battle, so that makes Darryl the winner!" Corey said and ended the match.

Nina picked the bird Pokemon up in her arms and stroked her head, "Aww, Starly, I'm so sorry. But I don't understand, how come when Munchlax used Metronome that time it was an electric attack, when it was fire the first time?"

"Metronome is a normal type move, and when a Pokemon uses it they can use any other move," said Darryl.

"Any move, huh? That's amazing! I bet that's very handy in battle."

"It can be, but it's risky because the moves are random. I guess we were lucky we managed to get a couple of powerful moves out of it this time."

"Still a lot of training to do, I see."

Everyone looked around the area for the source of the voice until they spotted a figure standing by the corner wall of the Pokemon Centre.

"It's Sal!" Nina cried and ran over, still carrying the unconscious Starly. Everyone joined her, "How are you?"

Now that he had been cleaned up, they had a better view of his face. He was quite pale and had a small cut on his right cheek and the left side of his face had a few bruises, but nothing too severe. His entire left arm was bandaged and elevated in a sling tied closely to his chest, and he was leaning slightly on a crutch at his right. Despite him being cleaned up he still looked incredibly weakened. Though she was happy to see him, Nina couldn't help but frown at his appearance.

"I'm well, thank you. How are you all doing? Not too shaken up about yesterday I hope."

They all shook their heads, "We're alright. We were more concerned about you and the other miners," said Corey.

"It's nothing to worry about. Some of the miners got a few cuts and bruises, and Byron's got a broken wrist, but we're all alright. The Doctors said as long as they stay away from work for a few days, or a few weeks in my case, we'll recover in no time."

Nina was staring at him with worry etched all over her face, but only Corey knew why, "Does it hurt?"

Sal smiled weakly, "It's uncomfortable, but I can manage; plus, Bernie's been helping me out. He's just having a word with Nurse Joy at the moment, so I thought I'd come say hello."

Nina nodded, and Corey noticed that she was still staring. He tried to hide his grin, but it was difficult. Luckily no one noticed.

Suddenly Nina was brought out of her trance when Sal called her name.

"Huh?" she said rather dumbfounded.

Sal chuckled, "I said you should go take Starly to Nurse Joy. All your Pokemon will need all their strength for our battle tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? But I thought the Doctor-"

He waved his good hand to stop her, "I'm sure I can handle a battle. He said that I wasn't to _physically_ strain myself too much, but that doesn't stop me from using my Pokemon in battle. Besides, I don't want to keep you from your journey much longer. You've been here for quite a while now and I'm eager to see how much you've improved."

And like a Pokemon obeying its trainer she didn't hesitate to do as he asked and ran inside with Starly. Corey couldn't help himself and chuckled. The others said a quick hello and goodbye to Bernie and Sal before they left the Centre, Nina's face flushing again and Corey laughing to himself. Nina left Starly with Nurse Joy, promising to bring her back a treat, before they all headed out for the ice cream she promised to buy them all. And as they all sat outside enjoying the frozen treat, she couldn't take her mind off her rematch with Sal. This time she was going to win.


	19. Chapter 19

Nina felt a shiver of excitement run up her spine. She was back in the Oreburgh Gym, about to begin her rematch with Sal. She'd been looking forward to her battle ever since Sal proposed it, and her poor friends had to put up with her going on about her excitement and nerves.

"You can do it, Nina!" she heard Shona shout from the stands.

Nina smiled and waved as her friends cheered her on, then turned her attention to Sal. Even though she just saw him yesterday she already noticed he was starting to look healthier. He had a little more colour in his face and he was standing more upright, leaning less on his crutch.

"I hope our battle won't be a disappointment like the last time," he said, already starting his strategy of putting her down before the battle, "I've been looking forward to this since our first battle."

Nina smiled, "It won't be, because this time, I'm going to win,"

Sal grinned, glad to see she was showing more confidence this time.

"Alright, Nina," said Bernie from the side, "Please choose your first Pokemon."

Nina nodded and picked a Pokeball from her belt then threw it into the air to summon Starly.

"Interesting," Sal commented, and he threw his Pokeball into the air but what came out of it wasn't Shieldon. This Pokemon was small and black with a tan shell and four claw legs.

"Kabuto?"

"I thought that might surprise you," Sal grinned, "I thought I'd take this opportunity to test Kabuto's abilities and to see how well you take surprises."

Nina admitted she hadn't expected anyone other than Shieldon, but nevertheless, she was confident she could still win.

"You know the rules, Nina. Once you defeat Sal's Pokemon, you win," said Bernie.

Nina nodded and took a deep breath, "You ready, Starly?"

"Starly!" she chirped.

Seeing they were both ready, Bernie raised his hand into the air then swiped it down, "Begin!"

Using Starly's speed to her advantage Nina decided to attack first, "Starly, use Wing Attack!"

Neither Sal nor Kabuto made any sign of defending as Starly charged. She swung her wing against Kabuto's shell. Nothing happened.

"Kabuto, counter with Scratch!"

Kabuto balanced itself on its left side and using its two left legs kicked off the ground and slashed its right claws across Starly. The bird cried out and flew away from her opponent.

"Starly's attack did nothing. That must mean flying type moves aren't very effective against rock types either," Nina said more to herself than anyone else.

"You're learning," Sal said having heard her, "But surely you can do better than that."

Nina wasn't going to let his words get to her this time, "Starly, use Quick Attack!"

Starly flew at Kabuto, intending to inflict as much damage as she could. She rammed head-first into the shell Pokemon, managing to knock it flying back towards its trainer and landing on its front. Starly landed on the ground, feeling happy with herself, until Kabuto got back on its feet.

_'Darn!_' Nina thought to herself, _'I know that Normal type moves aren't very effective against rock types, but I thought Starly might have done at least something. Guess I'll just have to try a bit harder.'_

"Starly, use Quick Attack again, and again!'

Starly crashed into Kabuto then circled around and back again. She did this several times, knocking Kabuto all over the arena until she stopped to take a breather. Nina was sure that had to have done some damage. But still, Kabuto pushed back to its feet again.

"What?!" Nina cried in frustration, but this only amused Sal more. She took a deep breath and calmed herself. At this rate she wasn't going to get far as none of Starly's attacks were doing much and she was only tiring herself out.

"Alright, Starly, you take a break," she said and returned her to her Pokeball. She looked up at the stand where Linoone was sitting on Corey's lap, "Your turn, Linoone!"

Linoone nodded and jumped down from the stands and joined her while the others cheered him on, "Yay, go Linoone!"

Although Linoone's attacks were all normal types she was certain that because he was stronger than Starly he might have more of an impact. There was only one way to find out.

"Linoone, use Headbutt!"

Linoone dashed forth and crashed into Kabuto, and like before it landed on its front and got back up.

Nina growled. Why was Sal not doing anything? "Again, Linoone!"

Linoone did as asked but this time Kabuto dodged it and slashed its claws across Linoone's face. He yelped and backed away, holding a paw to the fresh scratch on his face.

"This is getting very repetitive and going nowhere," Sal mocked.

Nina was finding it difficult to keep calm now. Her frustration was growing as their moves failed. For some reason his taunts really bothered her.

"Linoone, take a break," she said. He nodded and ran to her side while she grabbed Chimchar's Pokeball from her belt, "Let's go, Chimchar!"

The little fire chimp Pokemon appeared on the arena, excited and ready to battle, "Chimchar!"

"I see Chimchar has gained some confidence since last time," said Sal.

"You bet," Nina said, "We'll show them, right, Chimchar?"

"Char!"

"Alright, let's start off with Flame Wheel!"

Chimchar jumped into a ball of flames and spun towards Kabuto. Nina was impressed by his enthusiasm. Again, Sal did not give Kabuto a command and allowed Chimchar to crash into it. Then Nina realized he must be testing her Pokemon's strength. She smiled as Kabuto crashed into a rock, its shell bouncing off the surface, before landing back on the ground. Nina noticed it had a little more difficulty getting back up this time.

"Impressive, Chimchar's strength has greatly improved. And now that I've seen what you can do, its time I got more serious. Kabuto, use Scratch!"

Kabuto charged at Chimchar, its little claw-legs scuttling across the ground.

"Dodge it, Chimchar," Nine cried when she noticed how fast Kabuto moved. Chimchar jumped backwards in time to miss it, "Great job!"

Sal's grin widened, "Counter it."

Kabuto planted the claws it had intended to strike Chimchar on the ground and used them to swing its weight around, then used its other claws and struck the chimp Pokemon across the face. Chimchar cried out in pain and held his face.

"Chimchar, are you alright?" Nina asked, and he nodded while backing away from Kabuto. It dawned on her that Sal must have been training Kabuto.

"I hope you don't think I spend my spare time doing nothing," said Sal, "As gym leader I need to keep my Pokemon in top shape for new challengers."

"Of course, but I'm still going to beat you! Chimchar, use Flame Wheel!"

Chimchar jumped into action and attacked.

"Kabuto, dodge it!" The shellfish Pokemon swiftly dodged the incoming attack and Chimchar sped past it.

"Quick, Chimchar, turn around and use Scratch!"

Chimchar skidded to a halt, the flames around him fading, and launched at his opponent.

"Kabuto, use Harden!"

Kabuto crouched low to the ground and a silvery sheet not unlike metal cloaked its shell. Chimchar swiped his hand down on Kabuto's shell as hard as he could.

CRACK!

Chimchar screamed in agony, and backed away from Kabuto, holding his throbbing red hand, tears streaming down his face.

"Ouch! That's got ta hurt," Terry cringed.

"You alright, Chimchar?" Nina asked.

He managed to pull himself together and stopped screaming, although it was evident he was still in pain as tears continued to run down his cheeks. He wiped them from his face and glared at Kabuto.

"You're going to pay for that. Chimchar, use Ember!"

Chimchar inhaled a deep breath then shot a blast of angry flames. Kabuto dodged it again then without Nina's consent, Chimchar shot forth in a ball of flames. Kabuto was knocked flying across the arena and skidded to a halt on its back, exposing its black belly. It wiggled as its legs clawed at the air, struggling to move.

Suddenly it struck Nina, every time she attacked it landed on its front, "Of course! Its shell is solid, but if flipped on its back it becomes defenceless!"

Sal's grin widened when he saw the realization hit her.

"Chimchar, use Flame Wheel!"

Chimchar launched again, body encased in flames once again. Kabuto flailed about helplessly as Chimchar got closer and closer.

"Now jump up, Chimchar!"

Chimchar kicked up off the ground, his body still blazing, and positioned himself directly above Kabuto. Time seemed to slow down, and the only thing Nina could hear was her racing heartbeat pounding in her ears. Her eyes followed Chimchar as he came crashing down on top of Kabuto. She shielded her eyes as smoke and dust exploded around the area. Everyone watched in anticipation as the smoke slowly disappeared. The impact of the attack left a small crater in the centre of the arena. Chimchar was standing panting heavily next to and unconscious Kabuto.

"Kabuto is unable to battle; the victory goes to Nina and Chimchar!" Bernie bellowed.

Nina screamed in delight and ran over to Chimchar and picked him up, "You did it, Chimchar!"

The two of them, along with Linoone, bounced around happily, their friends cheering from the stands.

"Way to go, you guys!" cried Shona.

Sal smiled, happy for them and returned Kabuto to its Pokeball, "I'm glad to see you've made a vast improvement. You figured out Kabuto's weakness and used it to your advantage. I'm impressed, but our battle isn't over yet."

They all looked over at him confused then he threw another Pokeball into the air and summoned Shieldon.

At first Nina was confused, she already defeated his Pokemon, but then remembered that gym leaders were allowed as many as three Pokemon too, but before he only had one. This was probably what Darryl meant about Sal testing her. She straightened up and nodded, this battle would be tougher.

"Chimchar, you take a little break," she said and returned him to his Pokeball. She looked down at Linoone. He gave a nod and ran to his place on the arena.

"Alright we can do this, right Linoone?" Nina said, trying to push her rising nerves to the back of her mind.

"LI!"

When Bernie noticed they were ready, he started the next match. Linoone charged into battle head on. He managed to land every attack, but this time Sal wasn't playing around and was attacking back full force.

"Dodge it, Linoone!"

Linoone flung himself clumsily out of the way of Shieldon's Stone Edge. Nina could see he was tiring and it would only be a matter of time until Shieldon took him out. The last of the stones crashed into the ground and Linoone stopped to take a breath.

"Hang in there, Linoone. Use Quick Attack!"

Linoone dashed at Shieldon who didn't make any attempt to dodge. Linoone crashed into him face on.

"Now, Shieldon!" Said Sal and Shieldon knelt, then using its iron head lifted Linoone, flinging him into the air, just like before, "Now use Stone Edge, one more time!"

Numerous spiked stones lifted out of the ground and flew up to Linoone.

"Linoone, look out!" Nina cried but it was too late, and she watched in horror as he was mercilessly attacked, unable to defend himself. As he slowly fell Nina ran to him and caught him before he hit the ground.

"Linoone, are you alright?" she asked and held him tightly but not enough to hurt him further.

"Li," he said tiredly and gave her a weak smile.

"You did really well, Linoone, I'm proud of you," she smiled and walked over to the stand, "Corey, will you look after him?"

"Of course," he said and climbed down a few rows to get him.

Nina gave Linoone a little kiss on the head and carefully handed him to Corey, before returning to the arena. She set her eyes on Sal, expecting a snide remark. But to her surprise he didn't say anything, '_What's he thinking?'_

She watched him for a moment, hoping to suddenly have the gift of mind reading, but when nothing happened, she chose a Pokeball from her belt. For a moment she thought about using Chimchar, but then decided to give him some more time to recover. She picked Starly's and tossed it into the air.

"Starly!"

Shieldon was the first to attack with Stone Edge but using her speed, Starly was able to dodge each with ease.

"It's clever of you to use Starly's speed to your advantage, but let's see how well you dodge this. Shieldon, use Rock Tomb!"

Shieldon roared as three large stones, each twice the size of his body, lifted out of the ground. They hovered around him for a moment then he gave another roar and threw them.

Starly barely managed to dive under the first, but then the second crashed into her full force. She spun backwards, but managed, with difficulty, to balance herself. However, she was too late to dodge the third, and she dropped down unconscious. Nina ran over to her and crouched down next to her.

"You did great, Starly, you take a good rest," she said and returned her to her Pokeball. She took a deep breath. Her confidence was waning now and although she had faith in Chimchar, Shieldon was just too powerful.

"It's not over yet, Nina," Sal said when he noticed her expression.

She nodded, once again pushing her negative thoughts to the back of her mind and grabbed Chimchar's Pokeball and summoned him.

"Chimchar!"

Nina immediately noticed, with worry, his pained expression. His fingers were red and looked swollen and she could tell he was trying hard not to focus on it.

"The winner of this match will be the victor," said Bernie, "Begin!"

"Chimchar, use Ember!"

"Shieldon, use Stone Edge!"

Shieldon's Stone Edge shot through Chimchar's attack and flew towards him. He jumped about, only managing to dodge a few. With great difficulty he managed to stay on his feet. Nina growled in frustration. Poor Chimchar was too exhausted and Shieldon was still at full power.

"I think this battle has dragged on long enough," Sal said, taking Nina by surprise, "Shieldon, use Rock Tomb!"

Nina watched in horror as three more enormous stones lifted from the ground, ready to attack. She didn't know what to do. Even at full health Starly couldn't dodge them, so there was no way Chimchar stood a chance in his weakened state. He glanced at her for guidance, but she felt so helpless. She gasped as the stones hurtled towards the small chimp. There was nothing she could do… unless.

"Of course!" Nina inwardly smacked herself, "Chimchar, quick, jump onto the rocks!"

At first, he was confused but then the idea hit him too. He leapt from his standing position. He held his hands and feet out and landed on top of the first rock.

"What?!" Sal yelled in surprise.

Chimchar kicked off the first one and onto the next before it could hit him, then onto the next.

"Now use Flame Wheel, full power!"

Chimchar leapt off the final rock just above Shieldon. He gave a great cry of determination and hurled his flaming body towards the startled dinosaur. Shieldon had no time to move as Chimchar hit him full force on the back. Once again, the arena was engulfed in smoke and dust and the only sound was that of Shieldon's cry as Chimchar collided with him.

Nina held her breath awaiting the result, as did Sal, who was straining to see who was still standing.

Shieldon was kneeling low to the ground. He was breathing heavily and looking up at Chimchar. The chimp Pokemon was also breathing heavily but was standing upright. Both were barely conscious. It was now a matter of who fell first. Nina felt hope build up in her again as she crossed her fingers.

Both Pokemon stared at each other for a few moments until one of them fell.

"Chimchar is unable to battle, which makes Shieldon and Sal the winners!"

Nina felt as though something heavy had been dropped on her chest, making it difficult for her to breath. She didn't understand. All their training, all that hard work still wasn't good enough.

Bringing herself out of her trance she ran to Chimchar.

"Chimchar?"

The little chimp Pokemon had tears in his eyes as he looked up at her, sorry that he didn't do better.

Nina carefully picked him up and smiled at him.

"Don't be sad, Chimchar. You did your best and you were so close. There's no need to be disappointed, I'm really proud of you," he smiled back in return and she hugged him.

"Good job, Shieldon. You take a good rest," Sal said and returned his tired Pokemon to his Pokeball.

Nina pulled away from her embrace and looked up as Sal walked over to her. He offered her a warm smile and any sadness or despair she felt quickly melted away.


	20. Chapter 20

"Just a moment, please,"

The recovery machine beeped, and the screen lit up showing the status of five Pokemon. Both Chimchar and Starly were tucked away in their Pokeballs, while Linoone sat on the counter with some wires hooked up to him. He glanced wearily up at Nina and she offered him a soft smile.

Nurse Joy pressed a few keys on the machine's keyboard. It hummed and beeped softly and the images of the Pokemon slowly turned from an orange red to bright green. Nina's smile widened when she saw Linoone perk up from his weariness.

"There we are," said Nurse Joy. She carefully removed the wires from Linoone and he jumped into Nina's arms.

Nina giggled as he circled around her neck, "Glad you're feeling better, Linoone."

Nurse Joy removed the Pokeballs from the machine and handed two of them to Nina, "Here you are, Nina. Chimchar and Starly will be feeling much better now."

"Thank you, Nurse Joy."

Nurse Joy then called to Sal who was standing patiently by the waiting area talking to the others. He carefully walked over and nodded in thanks. Nurse Joy smiled to them all then returned to her work.

"Well, Nina, I admit you surprised me," said Sal.

Nina who was still hugging Linoone looked up, oblivious to what he was talking about, "Huh?"

He chuckled, "When you got Chimchar to jump onto Shieldon's Rock Tomb. You knew he wouldn't have been able to avoid them. That was very clever."

She felt her cheeks flush and looked at the ground to try and hide it, "Thank you."

"Yeah, Nina, that was totally awesome!" exclaimed Terry as everyone gathered around, "I was like 'oh no they're done for!' But then Chimchar leapt up onto the first rock, and then the other, and I was like 'they're so awesome!'"

Corey and Darryl exchanged a glance then shook their heads in amusement as Terry jumped about in excitement. Shona whacked him across the head to shut him up, "Will you chill out! You're worse than a toddler at Christmas!"

Nina laughed as Terry pouted at her and rubbed his head.

"So, what will you do now?" asked Sal.

Nina frowned, "Well, since I've been unable to beat you, I guess I'll need to train more until I can."

"Not necessarily," he said.

He reached into his pocket then held his hand out to her. In the palm of his hand was a small flat object no bigger than a walnut. It was shiny and brown in colour. It was oval shaped with a light brown curved triangular shape in the middle with darker brow around it. It represented an ancient tooth with soil around it.

Nina looked at it in awe, then turned confused eyes to Sal.

"This is the Fossil Badge. To earn a badge, it takes more than winning a gym battle; you need to prove that you've connected with your Pokemon and have an understanding of their abilities, which you've shown. I think everyone here will agree with me when I say you've more than earned it."

Nina stared at the badge in awe, unable to take in that it was now hers. She's dreamt for so long about her journey, meeting new Pokemon and training them to challenge the gym leaders. She admitted she didn't think it would be as hard as it was, but she must be on the right track if she was being given one now.

Sal startled chuckling when Nina didn't make any movement to take it, only staring at it in wonder. He grabbed her left hand, causing her to turn scarlet, and Corey to snigger. He faced her palm up and placed the badge on it.

"You still have a tough challenge ahead of you," Sal said, "but if you keep training the way you have, you'll definitely earn the other gym badges, even if you don't win. But I have confidence that you will."

Nina finally took her eyes off the badge in her hand and looked up at him, "You really think so?"

"Of course, I wouldn't have said it otherwise."

Nina stood blushing for a moment longer, then thought of something.

"Oh, I just remembered," she knelt and pulled off her bag. She opened it up and pulled out her camera that Corey had given back to her after her battle, "If it's alright with you guys, can I get a group photo?"

Everyone smiled "Sure!"

Nina grabbed the two Pokeballs from her belt and released the Pokemon. Starly and Chimchar smiled at her in return, "Oh, but who's going to take it?"

"I can do that," said Nurse Joy as she walked around from the counter. Nina nodded in thanks and handed her the camera while everyone got into position. Once they were set they all smiled and the camera flashed, momentarily blinding them.

"Wow, Nina, did you have to have the flash so strong?" Terry said and rubbed his eyes, trying to get rid of the spots in his vision.

Nina scratched the back of her head, "Sorry about that," she went over to Nurse Joy to check that the picture had taken alright, which it had, "Perfect!"

Bernie walked up to Sal and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Well, Nina, it's been a real pleasure, but we'd best be on our way, we still have a few things to take care of."

Nina felt a little disappointed. Even though she could now get on her way to other cities, she was sad to say goodbye "Thanks Bernie. I'll be sure to come back and visit."

"One last thing before we go, Nina," Sal said. Nina noticed the seriousness in his tone, "While you're out travelling I want you to be very careful. I have no doubt you can handle yourselves, but don't try to do anything out of your league. If you can, please steer clear of Team Umbra."

Nina and Corey exchanged a quick glance while the others looked confused.

"How do you know about Team Umbra?" Corey asked.

Sal's eyes turned dark and his brow furrowed, "About six years ago they used to be a group of trainers that specializes in training Dark type Pokemon. They had a school in Eterna City where they taught trainers and their Pokemon dark type moves. But, as the years went on, they started recruiting more members and trained them to steal. At first, they were nothing more than petty thieves, stealing only little trinkets to enrich themselves, but lately they've become much more dangerous, as I'm sure you've noticed," he gestured to his bandages.

"If people know this, then why are they still active? Shouldn't they have been arrested?" Nina said.

"Their base in Eterna City was raided two years ago, but it was empty. Somehow, they caught on to what was happening and abandoned their base. For a while we thought they'd disbanded, but a few weeks ago there were reports of sightings in other cities. When Roark described them to me I had suspicions, but it wasn't until I saw them that I knew for sure it was them. They're sneaky and excellent escape artists, and it seems they have spies everywhere so they pick up on things quickly."

"But what exactly do they want?"

"We're unsure. All we know is that they're extremely dangerous, so like I said, please be very careful. That goes for all of you," he said to all the young trainers gathered, "I don't want to think about any of you getting hurt trying to fight them."

And with that he said a final goodbye to them all and followed Bernie out of the Pokemon Centre, leaving them all befuddled.

"I really like this photo," Nina said as she looked through the photos on her camera. After saying goodbye to Terry, Shona and Darryl, with a promise to meet up sometime soon, Corey and Nina were finally on their way again, and after a quick run through the Oreburgh Gate, where the broken lights had been repaired, they decided to set up camp for the night.

"I think I'll send this one home to my Mum and get her to frame it," she held up the camera to show the photo taken at the Pokemon Centre.

Corey nodded his agreement, hiding a chuckle to himself, as he kept an eye on the tomato soup in a small pot above their campfire. This was their second time cooking tonight. Nina had taken charge the first time while Corey prepared the Pokemon food. It seemed to be going well, but after a while she complained that the vegetables in their soup were still too hard. Thinking that maybe the water just wasn't hot enough, she asked Chimchar to use Ember on the bottom of the pot to heat it quicker. Disaster struck as the bottom of the pot burst and the boiling soup spilled out onto the campfire. She was devastated, more at the loss of food than the pot.

They quickly made a new campfire and Corey decided this time to take over the cooking. He wasn't a great cook either, but this time it seemed to be going to plan.

After about ten minutes, Nina finally decided to put her camera away and looked around. They set up camp in a small grove in the forest along Route 203. Chimchar, Linoone and Eevee were snuggled up in their tents while Starly was nestled in a tree overlooking their camp. All were sound asleep.

Nina smiled as she looked up at Starly. She was so happy to see her again and was glad that she wanted to join her on her journey. She wished the bird Pokemon would try to interact with others more and get to know them, but Starly was stubborn and proud, so it was going to take time and effort on Nina's part for her to open up to them. But, even though she kept her distance from them, she always had her eyes on them, and Nina suspected that she was looking out for them. Or at least, that's what she hoped.

As Nina pondered, the smell of tomato soup teased her nostrils, causing her stomach to growl. She cursed herself for ruining their earlier meal.

"Is it ready yet?" she asked hungrily.

Corey, who had sat back for a bit to let it boil, sat forward to check, "Err, I think so."

"Well, then let's try it," Nina said and grabbed her bowl.

Corey poured each of them their fill and set aside the pot to let it cool. They grabbed a couple of slices of bread from their bags, breathed in the sweet tomato smell and dug in.

They both paused for a second and looked at each other before spitting the soup out and coughing.

"Urgh! What is that?!" Nina cried and held the bowl away from her as if it was poisonous.

Corey, taking a giant swig of water to rid the taste, set his bowl aside and gave it a wide berth, "I have no idea! I let it boil for fifteen minutes like it said."

He picked up the tin and read the cooking time as stated and pointed it to Nina, "See?"

Nina picked up the pot instead and saw that the bottom of it was completely burnt, "Yeah, but maybe it's different on a campfire than a stove. Look at the pot."

Corey's shoulders slumped, and he sighed, "I think we need to take some cooking classes."


End file.
